How to set app limits on your iPhone

To put a daily time limit on your iPhone apps, open Settings > Screen Time. If you see App Limits, tap it and choose Add Limit. If you see Time Allowances, open that instead to adjust your daily total and app categories.

Apple's iOS 26 and iOS 27 guides describe different menus. Follow the section below that matches your phone. These steps are for managing your own use; setting up a child's device has a separate Family Sharing workflow.

Start with one app or category

Choose one place where you want a clearer stopping point: a social feed, games, or entertainment. Start with a limit you can use on an ordinary day, including the time you actually want to spend there.

For example, you might try a 30-minute daily allowance for social apps. That is a starting point to adjust, not a recommended amount everyone should follow. A limit is more useful when you know what you want it to make room for, such as finishing breakfast before opening a feed.

If your phone shows App Limits

Apple's iOS 26 instructions use this path:

1. Open Settings > Screen Time.
2. If activity tracking is off, open App & Website Activity and turn it on.
3. Open App Limits, then tap Add Limit.
4. Select a category, or expand its name to choose individual apps.
5. Tap Next and set the time allowed. Use Customize Days if you want different amounts on different days.
6. Save the limit.

Pay attention to what you select together. A limit covering several apps applies to that selection as a group. If you want separate allowances for two apps, create separate limits.

Apple also notes that Screen Time limits can be ignored by default. Treat the initial setup as a stopping cue, and check the blocking options available on your device if that is not the behavior you want.

If your phone shows Time Allowances

Apple's iOS 27 instructions use daily totals and categories:

1. Open Settings > Screen Time > Time Allowances. If prompted, tap Turn On App & Website Activity.
2. Adjust your daily total using the slider or the plus and minus controls.
3. Under Time Allowances, tap a category to adjust its allowance.
4. To add a category, open Manage Categories, tap the add control, and select a category.

An app in a category is available until either its category allowance or the daily total is reached. If a category still has time left but the daily total is used up, increasing only the category allowance will not address that limit.

Apple specifies iOS 27 or the corresponding version on your other Apple devices for the new Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances features. Check that requirement if you use Screen Time across several devices.

Use a schedule for a break at a particular time

A daily allowance answers “How much time?” A schedule answers “When?” If you want fewer distractions during dinner, a scheduled break may fit better than a daily cap alone.

With the iOS 26 menus, open Settings > Screen Time > Downtime, turn on Scheduled, and choose your days and start and end times. Apple says that setting a Screen Time passcode lets you use Block at Downtime. With that option off, Downtime provides a reminder you can choose to ignore.

With the iOS 27 menus, open Settings > Screen Time > Screen Time Schedule and turn on Schedule. Use Add Schedule to choose days, then edit a time window and the Time Allowance categories available within it. In Time Allowances, Match Screen Time Schedule lets allowances follow your schedule.

Keep the apps and people you need available

Before trying a restrictive schedule, review Settings > Screen Time > Always Allowed. This is where you choose apps and contacts that remain available.

Think through an ordinary day: who might need to reach you, and which apps do you rely on? Review those choices before your scheduled break begins, then check that the setup works for you.

Check whether other devices share the limit

If your allowance seems to run out earlier than expected, check Share Across Devices. When it is on, Screen Time settings and reports are shared across supported devices signed in to the same Apple Account.

In the iOS 26 menus, this switch is under Settings > Screen Time. In the iOS 27 menus, it is under Settings > Screen Time > Manage Screen Time. Apple also specifies matching supported software versions for the newer sharing features.

Decide whether you want a shared allowance or separate settings for each device before changing your daily total.

When you want short visits with breaks between them

A daily allowance may suit you if you want a total budget. If you would prefer short visits with time to recharge between them, AppNap's play time and nap time offer another approach.

In AppNap, you select an app or group and set its play time and nap time. Minutes recharge while those apps are blocked. You start a visit with available minutes; when the timer ends, the apps are blocked again. The visit timer keeps running if you leave early.

Start with one change you can evaluate: a daily allowance, a scheduled break, or a rhythm of visits and naps. After a few ordinary days, adjust it around what helped you stop at the point you intended.