How to block TikTok, Instagram and Shorts at night

To block TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts at night on iPhone, use Screen Time, not each app's own bedtime feature. On iOS 27, make a Screen Time Schedule night window that leaves out the categories those apps sit in; on iOS 26 or earlier, schedule Downtime with Block at Downtime on. The apps' own features mute notifications or remind you, but they do not stop an adult opening the app. Screen Time works on apps, categories and websites, so Shorts cannot be blocked apart from the YouTube app.

Key takeaways

• Each app's own bedtime feature only mutes or reminds: Instagram's sleep mode pauses notifications but lets you keep using the app, TikTok's sleep reminders mute push notifications, and YouTube's bedtime reminder can be dismissed.
• Screen Time can make the apps unavailable: a night window on iOS 27, or Downtime with Block at Downtime on iOS 26.
• Screen Time acts on apps, categories and websites, so at night the choice for Shorts is the whole YouTube app.
• A night window works by category, so it quiets every app in the category you leave out; check where each of your apps sits first.
• To pause just the three apps you name, from bedtime to wake-up, the Bedline app does it with Screen Time; pausing apps needs a Premium plan.

What do TikTok, Instagram and YouTube's own bedtime features do?

They remind you or mute notifications; none of them stops you opening the app when you are an adult. This table is taken from each app's own help page, read on 13 October 2026.

App	Feature	What its help page says it does	Stops the app opening?
Instagram	Sleep mode	Pauses notifications, sends auto-replies and shows a reminder to close the app; "for most people", you can still use Instagram	No. A parent can choose to block it on a Teen Account
TikTok	Sleep hours	Mutes push notifications after your sleep time begins and notifies you in the app to consider a break	No
TikTok	Daily screen time	Notifies you at your limit; you can close TikTok or enter the on-screen passcode to go on	Only until you enter the passcode
YouTube	Bedtime reminder	Tells you to stop watching and go to bed; you can close it or tap Remind Me Again for 15 minutes later	No
YouTube	Shorts feed limit	Shows a message when you reach your limit, with an option to dismiss or ignore it	No

These are useful if notifications are what pull you back in. They are not a block.

How do you block all three at night with Screen Time?

You make a rule on the phone, outside the apps. The steps are short; the fuller walk-through is in how to block apps at night on iPhone.

On iOS 27, per Apple's Schedules and Time Allowances guide:

1. Open Settings > Screen Time > Screen Time Schedule and turn on Schedule.
2. Tap Add Schedule, choose the days, and open the time window.
3. Set it to start when you want the phone down and stop at your wake-up.
4. Choose which Time Allowance categories are available in it, and leave out the ones your social apps sit in.

On iOS 26 or earlier, per Apple's guide to schedules: go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime, turn on Scheduled, set the start and end times, and turn on Block at Downtime, which Apple says you can choose once you set a Screen Time passcode. Without it, you see a reminder and can carry on.

Two things to check before you trust it:

• Where each app sits. Screen Time sorts apps into categories of its own, and a window allows or leaves out whole categories. Open the category list and see which of your apps are in the one you are removing, and which other apps go quiet with them.
• Always Allowed. Apple's guide says apps and contacts in Always Allowed work "regardless of any Screen Time schedules or Time Allowances you've set". Keep the list short.

For what changed between the two versions, see what replaced Downtime in iOS 27.

Can you block only YouTube Shorts, or only Instagram Reels?

Not with Screen Time, as far as Apple's guide describes it: it works on apps, categories and websites, and Shorts and Reels are parts inside an app. At night the choice is the whole YouTube or Instagram app.

YouTube does give you its own control. The Shorts feed limit is set under You > Settings > Time management, and the help page says that when you reach it you can dismiss or ignore the limit. That makes it a nudge, which is what you want in the day, not a block at 23:30.

If you use the same services in Safari, the feed is still there. Open each site after your window starts to see whether it is still reachable.

How do you check the block works before you rely on it?

Test it once while you are awake, because the first night is a bad time to find a gap. The check takes about fifteen minutes and covers the three things people trip over.

1. Set a window that starts a few minutes from now and lasts ten minutes.
2. When it starts, tap TikTok, Instagram and YouTube and note what you see. A blocked app should not open.
3. Open the same services in Safari and see whether they load.
4. Check that your alarm, a phone call and a message from someone in Always Allowed still get through.
5. Replace the test window with the real one, or delete it.

If one of the three still opens, it is probably sitting in a category you left in, or in Always Allowed. Fix that now; at 23:30 you will not.

When is built-in Screen Time enough, and when is an app worth it?

Built-in Screen Time is enough when quieting whole categories at night suits you. It is free, built in, and on iOS 27 a single window covers every night. Make it harder to undo by asking someone else to set the Screen Time passcode.

An app is worth it in two cases. You want to pause exactly TikTok, Instagram and YouTube and leave every other app on the phone alone. Or you want an exit that closes again by itself instead of a passcode.

The Bedline app is built for the second kind of night. You set when your Bedline starts and when you wake up, with different weekend hours if you like, then pick the apps, categories or websites to pause, and Screen Time pauses them until morning. If you need your phone, you hold a button to confirm an emergency unlock, and the apps rest again on their own. It runs on iOS 18 or later, and pausing apps needs a Premium plan. No phone-down tool is impossible to get around, Bedline included: what it changes is when you decide, once in the evening instead of in bed.

You want	Use
Whole social categories quiet at night, free	A Screen Time Schedule window on iOS 27, or Downtime on iOS 26
Only TikTok, Instagram and YouTube paused	Bedline, with those three apps chosen
Fewer notifications, nothing blocked	Each app's own sleep feature
A block that is harder to lift	A Screen Time passcode that someone else holds

FAQ

Can I block TikTok at night on iPhone?

Yes, with Screen Time or an app built on it. TikTok's own sleep hours only mute push notifications and prompt you to take a break, and its daily limit can be passed by entering the on-screen passcode. A Screen Time window or a Bedline pause makes the app unavailable.

Does Instagram's sleep mode block the app?

No. Instagram's help page says that for most people you can still use Instagram in sleep mode, and that you will see a reminder to close it. On a Teen Account, a parent or guardian can choose to block Instagram during sleep mode.

Can I block YouTube Shorts but keep YouTube?

Not with Screen Time, which works on whole apps, categories and websites. YouTube's own Shorts feed limit can be dismissed or ignored. For the night, the practical choice is to pause the YouTube app.

Will blocking an app also block its website?

Not necessarily. Apple's guide says a Time Allowance applies to an app and to the website it declares, but it says nothing of the sort for a Schedule window, so open the site in Safari to test it. Bedline lets you choose websites as well as apps and categories.

What if I need messages or calls at night?

Put the messaging app and your key contacts in Always Allowed, which Apple's guide says stay available whatever your schedule. With Bedline, you can hold to confirm an emergency unlock, and the apps pause again on their own.