How to Block Porn on iPhone: 7 Methods

When parents have jam-packed schedules, they must juggle two big responsibilities: their job and raising their kids. This can be especially tough for young parents with little experience with childcare or a lack of support from their own parents. 

When a child cries or when parents need to attend to household duties, it’s common for them to allow their children to use smartphones for entertainment, such as watching movies, videos, or playing games.

The problem is that children can easily find and watch age-inappropriate content, which will negatively impact their mental well-being. So, if you want to keep your child safe from adult websites or just don’t want to see explicit content yourself, learning how to block 18+ content on iPhone is crucial.

In this review, we’ll tell how parents can protect children from seeing porn, what the best porn blocker solutions are, how to block porn on iPhone, and discuss other inappropriate content that can harm your kids’ mental health.

Why Is It Necessary to Block Porn Sites on Child’s iPhone?

It’s a question that can be discussed for hours. Access to age-inappropriate content for kids is one of the largest online threats that can negatively impact your kid’s mental well-being in the future. According to a survey by Children Commissioner involving over 1,000 young people in the UK, 30% of 11-year-olds have already come across porn. Moreover, AAP News states that 1 in 5 youths are exposed to unwanted sexually explicit material online. Sounds scary, agree?

Moreover, the National Library of Medicine reports that “56.6% of surveyed reported lifetime pornography use, with a significantly higher proportion of males than females reporting such use”, and concluded that watching pornography is associated with mental health issues. Out of all participants in the survey, 13.5% reported severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Compulsive pornography use was found to significantly impact these mental health aspects in both males and females. 

So, if it greatly affects the surveyed adults, what will it be on children or teens? At least, it can negatively impact children’s perception of healthy relationships, which can cause even more severe problems in the future. 

A child’s addiction to porn is even more severe than you may think. As to Statista 2022 report, nearly 7 out of 10 teenagers in the United States felt okay about the amount of online porn they watched. On the other hand, 25% of U.S. teens felt they should watch less, while 9% wished they could watch more online porn. 

The worst part is that only 50% of parents of children aged 16 or older have conversations about sex with their kids, while just 11% of parents of children aged 7-9 discuss it with them (2024 statistics for Sweden). This indicates that children may not even understand how harmful watching porn is and what the negative consequences porn addiction has. 

Children’s Perception of Sexuality

Pornographic representation of sexual acts often has nothing in common with how sex actually looks like. Adult users usually have more experience in differentiating and distinguishing reality from pornography, but children with no prior sexual experience struggle with this. In such a way, it often happens that children who watch pornography before having actual sex have very high and unrealistic expectations and, as a result, may have problems with sexual behavior in the future.

Negative Effects on Real-Life Intimacy and Body Image

Sex is a very important part of healthy relationships, but what happens if a person prefers watching porn to having real-life intimacy? Nothing good, for sure. Another problem is that porn actors and actresses almost always represent the perfect expectations and views of one’s appearance in modern society. Needless to say, ordinary people seldom look like Apollons, and this also affects relationships and family life.

Porn Addiction

People who are addicted to porn watch it every day and can hardly imagine their life without it. This addiction may influence their personal life, families, and even lead to divorce. When it comes to children, unrealistic expectations often lead to issues with finding a partner when they grow up. That is why, whenever such a problem arises, it must be addressed immediately before it is too late.

Impact on Future Sexual Satisfaction and Relationships

Different types and genres of porn exist, some of which may look very unusual or even deviant, which, nonetheless, attracts a lot of people due to its nature. However, this means that excitement limits rise higher, and people may not be satisfied with usual sex anymore. This may lead to potential problems in your child’s personal life in the future.

Best Methods How to Block Porn on iPhone

Well, if you notice your kid has become addicted to their smartphone and are afraid they may become a victim of inappropriate online content, knowing how to block porn on iPhone is necessary for you to know. 

Here are the four most frequently used methods for blocking porn on iPhone:

1. Turn on Google SafeSearch

If you want explicit content not to appear in Google Search results on your kid’s iPhone, the guide below will be useful. It shields against explicit content across all aspects of Google search. The disadvantage? It works only for Google, and other web browsers like Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer, to name a few, are not supported. 

So, if you use this method to block access to porn on your kid’s iPhone on Google search, you should know that when they decide to try another web browser, this method won’t help. 

Nevertheless, how to block porn on iPhone with Google SafeSearch?

1. Go to google.com/safesearch on your kid’s device. 

2. Choose “Filter” for content filtering. It will block any explicit content that’s been detected.

2. Use iOS Native Screen Time Settings

Another alternative to the SafeSearch solution is using iOS native screen time settings. When this option is turned on, it can restrict porn on iOS and even explicit application downloads. Take into account that this porn blocker for iPhone works only for private browsing in Safari. As for other web browsers, this method does not work. 

Here is how to block porn sites on iPhone using screen time settings:

1. Take your kid’s iPhone.
2. Navigate to the phone “Settings” menu. 
3. Choose “Screen Time”.

4. Scroll down and select “Content & Privacy Restrictions”. Tap on it. 

5. Switch on “Content & Privacy Restrictions”.

6. If you want to restrict app downloads, deletions, or in-app purchases, navigate to “iTunes & App Store Purchases” and select the option you need. 

7. If you want to restrict porn on iPhone, go to “Content & Privacy Restrictions” and choose “Content Restrictions”. It is also possible to block inappropriate YouTube videos on iPhone by setting up the Allowed Apps.

8. Go to “Web Content” and choose the option you’d like.

9. If you want always to allow or never allow access to specific websites, add them using the special navigation buttons.

10. The best part about using this iPhone porn blocker method on your kids’ devices is that you can use a passcode on the Screen Time screen to stop them from turning it off again. Simply go to Screen Time and select “Use Screen Time Passcode”.

11. Enter a desired password. That’s it. Now you know everything about how to block porn on Safari.

3. Enable Family Sharing Parental Controls

Switch on the Family Sharing feature in your cell phone to have even more control over your kid’s iOS device. In addition to offering its users to share different Apple services (Apple Books, App Store purchases, etc.), Family Sharing is also one of the best parental control apps that allow parents to get more control over their kid’s iPhones: see the screen time, visited websites, downloaded apps, the content they consume in books, TV shows, etc.

Note: This application is tailored exclusively for iOS devices and is intended solely for monitoring children under 13. Its usage is strictly prohibited for individuals aged 13 and above. Moreover, if your kid’s device is lost or stolen, all your family-related information will be in danger.

Well, if you are interested in how to block porn from iPhone, here’s a quick guide for you to follow:

1. Go to “Settings”  and tap your name. 

2. Scroll down and find “Family Sharing”.

3. Tap “Continue”.

4. Use your kid’s Apple ID to create an account.
5. Be ready to confirm you are an adult by providing the credit or debit card information linked to your Apple ID. 

6. When your child’s iOS device is connected to Family Sharing, you can:

• Restrict content based on age.
• Set downtime for devices/apps.
• Select what people they can communicate with.
• Block in-app purchases. 

4. Resort to a Third-Party Porn Blocker App like uMobix

Do you want to know how to block porn from iPhone and be certain it will work on any web browser your kid might use? uMobix will help. This is one of the best porn-blocking apps that works in stealth mode and guarantees the safety and security of your data. 

Although our spy-tracking application requires installation, it provides valuable information, making it a worthwhile investment for everyone who does not know how to restrict porn on iPhone. It can cut access to sites on the most popular browsers like Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Firefox, meaning you may no longer wonder how to block porn on your kid’s iPhone.

What does the porn blocker allow you to do?

• Keep an eye on your child’s online activity
• Manage your child’s accessible website list
• Limit your child’s access to harmful websites 
• Access to web browser history and browser bookmarks

By exploring our free app demo version, you’ll discover that uMobix offers the possibility to block websites and provides information about the number of website visits, the dates of these visits, and direct URLs, providing clarity and control over your child’s online interactions.

How to block porn with uMobix?

1. Go to umobix.com. 
2. Click on the “Try Now” button. 

3. Create an account using a valid email address. 

4. Choose the OS of the device you want to restrict/block access to specific websites.

5. Choose a preferred subscription plan and proceed with payment. 

Note: If you have not tried uMobix yet, you can request a 2-day trial software version, which is available for $1. Contact the support team for this. You can install the app on your device to understand how the app works and what you can get from it.

6. Check your email for confirmation of a successful tool purchase. Use your login credentials to log into your uMobix account. 
7. To set up uMobix on the target iOS or Android device, follow a detailed step-by-step guide (sent to the email you used when creating an account on the uMobix website). 
8. Once done, open your user account and start tracking and controlling the target activity.

Alternative Ways to Block Porn Sites on iPhone

In our review below, you will find out about the other alternative porn-blocking solutions to help you protect your kid’s iPhone from accessing explicit online content. 

1. Block Porn Sites Using DNS

Using DNS Filtering service provides a crucial layer of protection for kids constantly exposed to inappropriate online content. This is an effective blocking porn service, ensuring a safer and healthier browsing experience for children. It also allows parents to set the time limit and monitor sites their kids access. With customizable settings and easy implementation across various devices and networks, parents can have peace of mind knowing that their children are shielded from harmful content.

Note: DNS services can expose your child’s device to attacks, and troubleshooting issues with them can be challenging.

One of the oldest and most reliable DNS services is OpenDNS. 

Here’s how to set up the OpenDNS server:

1. Open your kid’s “Settings” app.
2. Tap “Network” settings and choose “Wi-Fi”.
3. Select “Advanced options”.
4. Choose “Change DNS settings”.
5. Insert this value: 208.67.222.13

2. Block Porn on iPhone via Your Internet Service Provider

If you want to block porn on mobile, check if your internet provider has your back. Just reach out to your ISP to see if they offer this. If they do, they can guide you on setting it up.

3. Router Parental Control

Do you have a wireless router at home? You can use it to protect your kid from porn content. But how? Parental control routers can provide customizable settings to block specific websites, making it an effective way to prevent unwanted websites. Some popular options for parental control routers include Netgear Nighthawk, Google Nest, and Asus RT routers.

Other Inappropriate Content Parents Should Be Aware of

What are the other forms of inappropriate content parents should be aware of?

• Cyberbullying
• Games
• Online chat rooms
• Social media 
• Movies

While some of the points listed above may not initially seem inappropriate, their impact changes when children are exposed to them for a prolonged period of time.

Key Takeaways for Parents to Protect Kids from Pornographic Content

Although American Psychiatric Association does not classify porn addiction as a psychological disorder, it is hard to argue that it is often a big problem that influences many people’s lives. Considering that children have free access to the Internet nowadays (and, as a consequence – to all possible kinds of porn), it is important for parents to be able to track it and block it when needed. Watching porn at an early age can influence a person’s sexual expectations and standards and cause lots of problems in their personal life. 

As a reliable parent, you should do your best to protect your kid from explicit online content, which, unfortunately, is so accessible nowadays. Neglecting it could result in decreased productivity, academic and social difficulties, loss of appetite, depression, and other mental health disorders for your child. With the tools mentioned in this review, you will be certain your kid is safe and sound. 

Unlike other apps with drawbacks, uMobix guarantees that your child won’t be exposed to explicit online content. It is a stealthy tracker which helps parents to monitor their children’s Internet activity 24/7. With its help, you can block porn sites if you notice excessive attention to it and have a conversation on pornography and sexuality with your child on time before it is too late.