Blocking
How to block porn: every phone, browser and app
To block porn on your phone, turn on the adult filter it already has: Limit Adult Websites in Screen Time on iPhone, or Private DNS with a family filter on Android. Then make that filter hard to switch off in a weak moment, because that is where most blocks fail.
This page is the short version for every device. It links to a full guide for each phone, browser and app, and it ends with an honest look at what free settings can and can’t do.
Quick answer: On iPhone, go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store, Media, Web, & Games → Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites. On Android, search Settings for Private DNS, choose Private DNS provider hostname and enter family.adguard-dns.com. Then set Google SafeSearch to Filter.
Block porn on your phone in five steps
- Turn on your phone’s own filter. On iPhone: open Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on, then tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games → Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites. On Android: open Settings, search for Private DNS, choose Private DNS provider hostname, enter family.adguard-dns.com and tap Save.
- Set Google SafeSearch to Filter. Go to google.com/safesearch and choose Filter. Not Blur: Blur only blurs explicit images and can still show explicit text and links.
- Switch off sensitive content in the apps you use. Reddit, X, Telegram and Discord each have their own setting. The guides below have the steps.
- Make it slow to undo. Add a delay, a lock or a person, while you’re calm. The three layers below explain how.
- Decide now what you’ll do when an urge hits. Write it down. You won’t think clearly at 1am.
Steps from Apple’s iPhone User Guide (iOS 26), Android Help and Google Search Help, checked 14 October 2026.
Pick your device or app
Phones
- How to block porn on iPhone: Screen Time’s free filter, step by step, and how to make it stick.
- How to block porn on Android: three free ways, and how to lock a blocker in.
- How to block porn on a Samsung phone: One UI’s own menus, Samsung Internet and Digital Wellbeing.
- QUIT for iPhone: Apple’s filter plus a delete lock, so it can’t be removed on impulse.
Browsers and search
- How to block porn on Chrome: Android, iPhone and computer.
- How to lock SafeSearch: keep explicit results out of Google, Bing and YouTube.
- Private DNS porn blocker: four free family filters for Android, compared.
Apps
When a block isn’t holding
- Limit Adult Websites not working? What Apple’s filter catches, what it misses, and fixes to try.
- A porn blocker that can’t be deleted: what makes a blocker hold when you most want it gone.
The three layers that work
Most people try one layer, usually a filter, and give up when it fails. Blocks that last tend to have all three.
1. A filter: removes the easy path
A filter stops known adult sites from loading. The free ones (Screen Time, Private DNS, SafeSearch) are good, and you should use them. None of them is complete. Adult content also lives on mainstream sites and apps that a filter has to leave open, and new sites appear faster than any list is updated.
2. Friction: makes switching it off slow
Every free filter can be switched off in a few taps, and urges usually pass within minutes. Friction closes that gap. It’s anything that makes undoing the block take longer than the urge lasts, or makes it visible to someone you trust:
- A delay. Some blockers turn “switch it off” into a request that unlocks after 24 hours.
- A person. An accountability partner who can approve an early unlock, or who is told when protection goes off.
- A lock. On iPhone, a Screen Time passcode that someone else keeps, or a delete lock on the blocker app. On Android, Always-on VPN for a blocker that uses Android’s VPN feature.
Set these up when you’re calm, not in the middle of an urge, and decide your rules then.
3. Help with the urge: the part a block can’t do
A blocker removes the easy path. It doesn’t remove the urge. Urges rise, peak and fade, usually within minutes, and what you do in those minutes is a skill you can learn. Start with how to ride out an urge, or open the urge timer next time one hits.
What free settings can’t do
- They’re quick to undo. Each one is a switch in Settings. Nothing slows you down, and nobody is told.
- They can’t see everything. Social media, image search and messaging apps carry adult content on sites a filter has to allow.
- They’re only as current as their list. New sites appear every day, and lists catch up later.
- They don’t help in the moment. When a site is blocked, the urge is still there.
Free methods vs a dedicated blocker
| Method | Covers | What it misses | How easy to undo | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google SafeSearch (Filter) | Explicit results in Google Search, on any device | Every site you open directly, and other search engines | One tap on the same page | Free |
| Screen Time: Limit Adult Websites (iPhone) | Adult websites Apple’s filter recognises, in Safari and other browsers | Adult content inside apps, and sites the filter doesn’t recognise yet | A few taps in Settings, unless someone else holds the Screen Time passcode | Free |
| Private DNS family filter (Android) | Known adult sites in every browser and app, on Wi-Fi and mobile data | Adult content on mainstream sites and apps, and new sites | Three taps, and nobody is told | Free |
| Browser settings (secure DNS, extensions) | Listed sites in that one browser | Everything outside that browser | One setting | Free |
| In-app NSFW settings (Reddit, X, Telegram, Discord) | Sensitive posts inside that one app | Everything outside that app | A toggle in the app | Free |
| Dedicated blocker (for example QUIT) | Android: every browser and app, with SafeSearch locked. iPhone: Apple’s adult-website filter plus a delete lock | Adult content on mainstream sites and apps it has to allow, like any filter | With Strict Mode, a request that unlocks after 24 hours, or sooner if your partner approves | QUIT: 7-day free trial on the yearly plan, then $49.99 a year (or $9.99 a month) |
Where QUIT fits
We make QUIT, so weigh this section with that in mind. On Android, QUIT filters on your phone in every browser and app, using a list of 25,000+ adult domains, keyword matching and a family-safe resolver, and it locks SafeSearch on Google, Bing and YouTube. On iPhone, it turns on Apple’s own adult-website filter for you and adds an optional delete lock. On both, Strict Mode makes switching protection off a request that unlocks after 24 hours, or sooner if a partner you trust approves, and a Panic Button and an AI coach help with the urge itself.
Already using Private DNS on Android? If you move to QUIT, set Private DNS back to Off or Automatic. QUIT does the filtering itself, a Private DNS hostname stops its shield from working, and the app tells you if one is set.
Questions people ask
How do I block porn on my phone for free?
Use the filter your phone already has. On iPhone, turn on Limit Adult Websites in Screen Time. On Android, set Private DNS to a family filter such as family.adguard-dns.com. Then set Google SafeSearch to Filter.
Can I block porn sites permanently?
No setting on a phone you control is truly permanent, and anyone who promises that is overselling. What lasts is a filter plus friction: a delay before it can be switched off, a person who is told if it is, and a plan for the urge itself.
Do these blocks work in private or incognito tabs?
The phone-wide filters do. Private DNS on Android and Screen Time on iPhone work below the browser, so private tabs go through the same filter. On iPhone, turning on Apple’s adult-website filter also switches off Private Browsing in Safari.
Can I block porn without installing an app?
Yes. Screen Time on iPhone and Private DNS on Android are built in and free. An app adds what a settings switch can’t: a delay before it turns off, alerts when it does, and help in the moment.
Will a blocker see what I browse?
A free DNS filter sees the names of the sites your phone looks up, not the pages you read, so pick a provider whose privacy policy you trust. QUIT filters on your phone, and your browsing is never sent to us.