How to Prevent Installing Apps on iPhone
Stop yourself (or your kid) from installing distracting or risky apps on iPhone. Full Screen Time setup plus how to seal the settings.
How to Prevent Installing Apps on iPhone
Whether you're trying to stay off Instagram, block your kid from downloading TikTok, or stop yourself from reinstalling Chrome around your porn blocker — here's how to disable app installs on iPhone, including a gap most guides miss if you're in the EU.
Step 1: Open Screen Time
Settings → Screen Time → Turn On Screen Time (if not already on)
Step 2: Open Content & Privacy Restrictions
Toggle Content & Privacy Restrictions on.
Step 3: Disable installing apps
- Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases
- Set Installing Apps to Don't Allow
The App Store icon will disappear from your Home Screen entirely.
Step 4: Also block deleting apps (important)
In the same menu, set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow.
Why? If you can delete apps, you can delete the apps that block you, then re-enable installs later... messy. Block both.
Step 5: If you're in the EU, there's a second switch you need
Since iOS 17.4, EU users can install apps from outside the App Store entirely — alternative marketplaces, downloaded straight from a developer's website. Apple added this for the Digital Markets Act, and it runs on a separate setting from the one above.
Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Installations & Purchases → App Marketplaces → Don't Allow
Skip this and "Installing Apps: Don't Allow" only blocks the App Store — a sideloaded marketplace app can still let someone install whatever they want. Most setup guides were written before this existed and never mention it.
Step 6: Block in-app purchases (optional)
Set In-app Purchases to Don't Allow if you're trying to stop spending or accidental purchases.
Step 7: Set a Screen Time passcode
Use Screen Time Passcode → 4-digit code. Required to ever change the above.
Step 8: Don't set a recovery email
If you add your Apple ID for recovery, you can reset the code in seconds. Skip recovery, or use someone else's Apple ID.
Step 9: Seal the passcode with LockIn
This is the part most guides skip. You knowing the passcode = no real restriction.
LockIn generates the Screen Time passcode for you, hides it, and locks it for as long as you choose. No reinstalling apps, no alternative marketplaces, no undoing.
Troubleshooting
The App Store icon is gone but I can still install something. Check whether it came from an alternative marketplace (EU only) — see Step 5.
Does this affect updates to apps I already have? No — Installing Apps and Deleting Apps only affect new installs and removals, not updating apps you already kept.
FAQ
Will this block app updates too? No, only new installs and deletions.
What if I share an Apple ID with a family member? Recovery becomes a real risk — anyone with access to that Apple ID can reset your Screen Time passcode. Use a separate one if you can.