How to block app downloads
on iPhone

Quick path: Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. Turn restrictions on, open iTunes & App Store Purchases, then set Installing Apps to Don't Allow.

On some iPhones and in some regions, Apple shows App Installations & Purchases instead. If alternative app marketplaces or web distribution are available, review those controls too.

This is a download restriction, not an app blocker. It prevents new installs. Use App Limits, Downtime, or a dedicated blocker to restrict apps already on the iPhone.

1. Open Settings > Screen Time. Turn on Screen Time if it has not been set up yet.

2. Set a Screen Time passcode if someone else uses the iPhone. A passcode prevents changes to the restrictions. For a child, the family organiser should manage it.

3. Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions. Tap it in Screen Time, then enable the main switch.

4. Open iTunes & App Store Purchases. Tap Installing Apps, then choose Don't Allow.

5. Choose the other protections you actually need. In the same area, you can separately control deleting apps and in-app purchases. Existing apps and their data remain installed.

For a child in Family Sharing, Ask to Buy lets a parent or guardian review download and purchase requests. This is better when approved educational, school, travel, or communication apps still need to be installed.

Manage the child's Screen Time from the family organizer's device. Do not share the Screen Time passcode. Also set age ratings under App Store, Media, Web & Games if content suitability is part of the goal.

Download controls are parental and purchase safeguards. They do not limit time inside apps already installed; use App Limits or Downtime for that.

Where alternative distribution is available, restricting the App Store alone may not close every installation route. In Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Installations & Purchases, set App Marketplaces and Web to Don't Allow when those options appear.

Review unrated-app and age-rating settings separately. Restrictions on App Store in-app purchases may not cover purchases made through alternative distribution or external websites.

Return to the same Screen Time purchase settings, enter the Screen Time passcode if asked, and change Installing Apps to Allow.

If the goal is stopping yourself from reinstalling distracting apps, download restrictions may help, but they are not a substitute for access control. Fella blocks selected installed apps; it does not replace Apple’s App Store installation restrictions. Each blocking session includes one 5-minute emergency unlock for a genuine need.

Blocking installations doesn't stop someone from removing an app that's already there. In the same Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases screen, set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow. Touch-and-hold no longer offers Remove App for any installed app, which is useful for a shared or child device where the goal is a stable, predictable set of apps rather than just fewer new ones.

Deleting Apps, Installing Apps, and In-app Purchases are three independent switches. Set only the ones that match the actual problem—for example, a household that wants to stop new downloads but still needs the freedom to remove clutter should leave Deleting Apps on Allow.

A full download block isn't always the right tool. Under Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Apps, choose an age rating ceiling—4+, 9+, 12+, or 17+. Apps rated above that level can no longer be downloaded, and existing apps above the limit are hidden rather than usable.

This is a lighter-touch option than Don't Allow for Installing Apps: it still permits new downloads, just within a defined content boundary, which suits a family device more than a full freeze.