Deleted social media but still use it in Safari?
If you deleted social media apps but still use them in Safari, change how you access their websites too. Block the sites you want off your phone, save account checks for a computer, or replace Safari with a browser without an address bar or general web search.
You removed the app. The same feed is still a few taps away.
Does using the website instead of the app help?
It can. If the website is less appealing to you and you leave after answering a message, that might be enough. There's no need to make the setup stricter just because you can.
But look at what you're doing. Are you checking something specific, or opening Safari whenever there's a spare minute? Did your phone time fall, or did it move from Instagram to the browser?
Judge the change by the behavior. An empty Home Screen doesn't tell you much if all the scrolling happens in another app.
Pick the access you actually want
Start with one of three rules:
- I need this account on my phone at certain times. Use a blocker with a schedule that covers the website as well as the app.
- I need the account, but it can wait until I'm at a computer. Keep it off the phone and give yourself a specific time to check it elsewhere.
- I need links on my phone, but I don't want to start browsing. Replace the browser with a link only browser.
These can work together. You might keep a work account available during office hours and restrict the personal feeds you keep checking at night.
If it's one website, restrict that website
For one or two known destinations, a site restriction is a sensible starting point. You don't have to change the whole browser.
In the iOS 18 Screen Time layout, go to Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web, & Games > Web Content. Under Limit Adult Websites, add the site's URL to Never Allow. That setting also enables adult-content filtering; it isn't just a custom list. See Apple's version-specific instructions.
Check the instructions for your installed iOS version if your menus differ. Apple's newer parental controls use a different layout, so a guide for a child's managed device may not match your own phone.
Test the route you normally use afterward. Open the saved link, the browser bookmark, or the link in a message. If it still loads, check the final address and the restrictions that apply to that browser. Don't assume one successful block covers every way you reach the service.
If you keep finding another site, change the browser
Sometimes you block Instagram and start reading Reddit. Then news. Then search results about something you didn't need to know.
At that point, maintaining a longer list may become its own chore. You want fewer ways to start a browsing session.
Anti Browser has no URL bar, general web search field, tabs, or saved bookmarks. A link from another app gives it a page to open. You can read that page and follow its links. Without a link, Wikipedia and AI remain available for lookups.
That changes the starting point. It doesn't guarantee that a social website is unreachable. A friend can still send you a link to one, and pages can link to other pages. Keep destination restrictions if those sites need to stay blocked.
Install Anti Browser, set it as your default browser, then use the Safari replacement guide to finish the setup. Test your everyday links before relying on it.
Remove the shortcuts back to the feed
Close the social tabs you've left open. Remove bookmarks and Home Screen website shortcuts you use to check feeds. Unsubscribe from the emails that bring you back for updates you didn't ask for.
And if you keep downloading the app again, restrict reinstalls. Browser changes won't keep a native app off your phone.
Keep a place for the useful parts
You can still want group invitations, messages, or a particular community in your life. Decide when and where you'll check them.
"I'll answer messages on my laptop after dinner" is something you can follow. "I'll try to use it less" leaves the decision open every time you pick up the phone.
Keep the access that serves a purpose. Make the rest take enough effort that you notice yourself choosing it.