Block Websites
How to Block Websites on a Supervised iPhone
Using supervised mode for iPhone, you can block websites and URLs in a more permanent way that is hard to bypass.
When an iPhone is set up in supervised mode, it enables a more robust enforcement of website and URL restrictions. Unlike Apple's standard screen time feature, supervised mode provides a URL filtering approach that blocks adult content in a way that's extremely difficult to circumvent.
Supervised Mode requires some setup beforehand, but once enabled, you'll have the ability to install Config Files onto your iPhone that restrict a variety of different features. Many of these features can be used to block apps or manage iPhone settings, but the one we're interested in for this guide is Web Content filtering.
Web Content Filtering allows a supervised iPhone to do two important things:
- Automatically block adult and explicit websites on the Safari browser without needing to create your own list of websites.
- Add additional website URLs that you'd like to block in addition to explicit sites.
When a website is blocked, it should look like this on Safari:
Web Content Filtering will not be set up using Screen Time or an app downloaded from the App Store. Instead, you create your own Config Files using an Apple Config Generator and install these Files onto your iPhone.
Supervised mode is the recommended approach for adults restricting their own device, although it will also be effective if you're a parent managing your child's device. Config Files can be enforced on the supervised iPhone and require outside help to delete and remove the installed restrictions.
Prerequisites
In order to get access to the supervised mode content filter for iOS, you need to meet the following requirements:
If you've already gone through the process of supervising an iPhone, then you should be able to follow this guide and start configuring the content filter.
Configuring the Web Content Filter on a Supervised iPhone
If Supervised Mode is correctly enabled on your iPhone, you should see a message like this when you open the Settings app:
You'll need to create a Config File that sets up Web Content Filtering on your iPhone using an Apple Config Generator . For example, Tech Lockdown's Config Generator has options for enabling built-in adult content filtering and your own blocklist of websites:
You can add website URLs directly to the generator, and block those websites after installing the Config File to your iPhone:
You can then install the preset onto your iPhone in one of two ways:
- By scanning the QR code on the dashboard. This will require that both the camera and default web browser is enabled.
- By downloading the Config Preset onto a computer, then sending it to your iPhone by Airdrop or email.
To remove the Config File later, you will need to unlock your Tech Lockdown profile . If you've added restrictions to your locked profile, you can require a password or wait for a delay before being allowed to download the removable version of the Config File.
Frequently Asked Questions
What other supervised-mode features can help create a full blocking system on iPhone?
In addition to blocking website URLs directly, Supervised Mode can also be used to:
- Block apps with a supervised app blocklist
- Protect a content filtering VPN
- Protect iPhone settings
How do I enable Supervised mode on an iPhone or iPad?
In general, you will reset the iPhone and use device supervision software on a connected Mac or Windows device to prepare the iPhone.
For the exact steps and process, check out our guides .
Compatibility Issues and Additional Considerations
If you're using Safari on your iPhone, this URL filtering approach tends to work pretty well. However, you might notice inconsistent results in other web browsers, or you might find that it's difficult to use a default-deny approach effectively without conflicting with the iOS apps you want to whitelist.
To account for this, consider combining supervised website blocking with a DNS Content Policy , which is a more comprehensive and easier-to-manage approach to website blocking.
You can block entire websites categories without having to specify every URL that should be blocked.
You can even block websites based on keywords to target website domains that use certain words:
This blocking approach works on all kinds of other devices as well and you can manage these block rules in a single unified dashboard.
Another advantage to this approach is that you can schedule app usage on all kinds of devices to disable the internet connection for the app store or web version of apps that you specify depending on the schedule you specify.
This approach works great alongside supervised app blocklists. It saves you the time of determining each URL that you need to add to the supervised Content Filter Unallowed URL section.