Stop scrolling when you want to sleep.

Make your apps stop when you mean to stop

Set this up before another evening turns into a 3am scroll.

1. Get Curfew on your iPhone. Open the app and follow its setup. Grant Screen Time access so Curfew can block the apps you choose.
2. Choose what keeps you up. Select distracting apps, categories, and websites. You can keep the rest of your phone available for the things you need.
3. Pick your cutoff. Choose a bedtime between 8pm and 2am. Set it for when you want the scrolling to end. Your apps return at 6am.
4. Finish setup. Your schedule repeats every night, even when Curfew is closed.

Once blocking starts, you cannot push your bedtime later or remove blocked apps inside Curfew until morning. Opening the selected app takes you to the block instead of back to the feed.

See how Curfew works on iPhone →

Still choosing your approach? Compare iPhone app blockers for bedtime, including Curfew, Screen Time, Opal, AppBlock and ScreenZen.

Block TikTok after 11pm and keep the apps you need

Suppose TikTok is what keeps you awake, but you want your phone nearby for calls and your morning alarm. Set a nightly TikTok block in Curfew:

1. Use Chosen Apps. Select TikTok in Apple's app picker. For this example, select the app itself so the block covers that one distraction.
2. Leave essentials available. Keep apps you need outside your selection. If you select a whole category instead, review what it contains so it does not include an app you meant to keep.
3. Set bedtime to 11pm. Finish setup and activate your schedule before the cutoff. Curfew blocks TikTok from 11pm until 6am every night.

At 11pm, opening TikTok brings up the block. At 6am, Curfew lifts it and TikTok is available for daytime use again. You can use the same approach for Instagram, YouTube or another app that keeps you scrolling.

If you also open the feed in a browser, include its website in your selection. During your first scheduled block, check the app and the website in the browser you normally use. Confirm the apps you kept available still open too.

Why Screen Time can feel like a reminder

Apple's default limits can be ignored. On iOS 26, setting a schedule alone does not mean you have enabled its stronger blocking option. A Screen Time passcode and Block at Downtime add a restriction, but an adult who controls the passcode can still change their own settings.

The Apple controls below solve different problems. These steps follow Apple's documentation for each iOS version.

Apple's iOS 27 Time Allowances can also follow scheduled windows. A daily budget and a bedtime boundary solve different problems, and the current controls can work together. Sources: iOS 26 Screen Time, iOS 27 Screen Time, and Focus notifications.

iOS 26: schedule Downtime

1. Open Settings → Screen Time. If App & Website Activity is off, open it and turn it on.
2. Open Downtime and turn on Scheduled.
3. Choose Every Day or Customize Days. Set when the restriction should start and end. For example, you might want it from 11pm until 6am.
4. Return to Screen Time → Always Allowed. Choose the apps and contacts you need during that window.

Turn the reminder into a restriction

By default, Apple's Screen Time limits can be ignored. If Downtime dims an app but still lets you carry on, it is acting as a reminder. This extra setting changes that behavior.

1. In Settings → Screen Time, tap Lock Screen Time Settings. Set and confirm a four-digit Screen Time passcode.
2. Open Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime.

Block at Downtime adds a passcode-protected restriction. With it off, Downtime shows a reminder you can ignore. Apps in Always Allowed remain available. For your own phone, knowing the Screen Time passcode still gives you control over the settings; this is not an absolute lockout from your device.

Check Apple's iOS 26 Downtime instructions and iOS 26 passcode instructions.

iOS 27: use Screen Time Schedule

Apple's newer controls use time windows and app categories. Start with the schedule, then choose what is available in each window.

1. Open Settings → Screen Time → Screen Time Schedule. Turn on Schedule.
2. Tap Add Schedule and choose the days it should apply.
3. Open a Time Window. Set its name, start time, and stop time. Review the Time Allowance categories available in that window.
4. In Screen Time → Time Allowances, use Manage Categories to create or review the categories you need. Turn on Match Screen Time Schedule when you want allowances to follow your windows.
5. Open Screen Time → Always Allowed. Use Add People and Add Apps for access you want to keep at all times.

Apple describes the windows as controlling which app categories are available at different times. Check which categories are available overnight and which return in the morning. Use the short check below to confirm the settings do what you expect on your phone.

Apple says the revised schedules and allowances require version 27 or later across your Apple devices. For Family Sharing, every device in the group needs the update too. If your screens differ, use the instructions for the version and device setup you have.

Read Apple's iOS 27 schedule and allowance guide. Its current passcode guide puts Lock Screen Time Settings under Manage Screen Time.

Check your Apple Screen Time schedule before tonight

If you use Apple's built-in settings, try a short window while you are awake. Use the same app selections you plan to use at bedtime. For Curfew, check your selection when your nightly block begins, as described in the TikTok example.

• Open one distracting app during the restricted window. Check that the result matches what you intended.
• Try that service's website in the browser you normally use too. Include both the apps and websites you want to block in your selection, then check the actual result.
• Open the apps you chose to keep available. Check the contacts and communication settings you rely on too.
• Confirm the restricted app is available again after the window ends.
• Put the schedule back to your bedtime and check the days of the week.

If your test only produces a reminder on iOS 26, return to Block at Downtime. If an individual app remains available, check whether it is in Always Allowed. On iOS 27, review its category, time window, and allowance together.

Stop losing sleep to one more video

You know when you want to sleep. The hard part is putting the phone down when the feed keeps going. Set Curfew once and let it block the apps that keep you there, every night.

Explore Curfew for iPhone →

Common questions

Need help with Curfew? Contact support. For Apple's own controls, use the linked instructions for your iOS version.