PawwallHow to block apps on iPhone at night
If your evenings keep disappearing into one or two apps, iOS already has tools to put a wall around them. Here are the three that matter, where to find them on iOS 17 and iOS 18, and where each one stops working.
1. Close your apps on a schedule with Downtime
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time. If you have never used it, tap Turn On Screen Time and choose This is My iPhone.
- Tap Downtime, then Schedule. Pick the days and set From and To, for example 22:00 to 07:00.
- Go back to Screen Time and open Always Allowed. Keep only what you need at night, such as Phone and Messages.
- If your version shows a Block at Downtime switch, leave it on, so apps are blocked and not only greyed out.
When Downtime starts, apps you did not allow get an hourglass icon. Tap one and iOS shows a time limit screen with a button to ignore the limit. That button matters, and we come back to it below.
2. Limit one app or one category with App Limits
- Go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits and tap Add Limit.
- Pick a category such as Social or Games. Tap the arrow next to a category if you want only some apps in it.
- Tap Next, set the daily time, and keep Block at End of Limit on.
App Limits count total time per day. They are good for "no more than an hour of this", and less good for "none of this after 22:00". For a night rule, Downtime is the better fit.
3. Quiet the notifications with a Focus
- Open Settings > Focus and tap the + button. Choose Custom, or use the Sleep Focus.
- Name it, then choose which people and apps may still notify you.
- Tap Add Schedule and set the hours.
A Focus silences notifications and can hide Home Screen pages. It does not lock apps. You can still open any of them, so it works best next to Downtime or App Limits.
4. Make it harder to dodge
Without a passcode, the ignore button on a limit screen is one tap away. In Settings > Screen Time, choose Lock Screen Time Settings (older versions call it Use Screen Time Passcode) and set a code. If you want it to hold, ask someone you trust to type it, so you do not know it. With a passcode set, the limit screen asks for it before it gives you more time.
Where Pawwall fits
Pawwall uses the same Screen Time framework, so the pause itself is Apple's own shield. What it adds is the plan and the moment of reaching:
- You pick your apps or whole categories once.
- You set a plan, such as Night focus or a work block, or tap Focus now for 15, 25, 45 or 60 minutes.
- When you open a paused app, the shield says Mau's paw is on this one. "Pause with Mau" opens one question about what pulled you in and one breath. Then it is your call: you can open the app for five minutes.
It needs Screen Time authorization. There is no account and no ads, and your app choices stay on your phone.
A checklist for tonight
- Pick the one or two apps that cost you the most evening time.
- Set a Downtime window that starts before you usually get stuck.
- Keep Always Allowed short.
- Decide who sets the passcode.
- Keep the rule for a week before you judge it.