How to make your iPad distraction free
To make your iPad distraction free, give it one or two jobs, like reading or writing, and remove everything else. Delete the video and feed apps, replace Safari with a browser without an address bar or general web search, and block new installs. Then use Downtime or Guided Access when you want it to stay on one app.
An iPad is easy to set up for a job. It's also the device that ends up on the couch at 11pm playing YouTube.
Decide what the iPad is for
Pick the jobs before you touch any settings. Reading books. Writing. Drawing. Sheet music. Video calls with family. Recipes in the kitchen.
Write them down. Any app that doesn't serve one of them is a candidate for removal. This is easier on an iPad than on an iPhone because the iPad rarely has to do everything. Your phone already handles directions, payments, and messages when you're out.
Why does the iPad turn into a TV?
The big screen makes video and feeds more pleasant than they are on a phone. It usually stays at home, where nothing forces you to put it down. And it's often signed into the same accounts as your phone, so apps you deleted from your phone may still be here.
Check that last one first. It's common to clean up an iPhone and forget the iPad is still running the old setup.
Replace Safari on the iPad too
Reading and writing still involve links: an article someone sent, a reference in an ebook, a shared document. You want those to open. You don't want a search bar waiting for you when the chapter gets slow.
Anti Browser has a native iPad app. Install it, then go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Browser App and choose Anti. Apple covers this in its default apps guide. Test a link from Mail or Messages, then disable Safari in Screen Time using the same steps as turning off Safari on iPhone.
Without a link, Anti offers Wikipedia and AI for quick lookups. That covers most "what does this word mean" moments while you read.
Remove the apps that don't fit the job
Delete the video, social, news, and game apps that don't serve the jobs you wrote down. Delete any other browsers too. A browser with an address bar undoes the Safari change.
Install anything you still need first, then block app installs so the deleted apps don't come back. How to stop reinstalling social media apps covers that setting and how to plan for downloads you do need. Protect your Screen Time settings with a passcode.
If someone else in your home uses the iPad, talk to them before deleting the apps they rely on. An iPad has one set of Screen Time settings, so the restrictions apply to everyone who picks it up.
Use Downtime for the hours it should do one thing
Downtime limits the iPad to the apps you mark as always allowed during a set schedule. In Settings > Screen Time, set a Downtime schedule for your evenings, then allow Books or your writing app. Menu names can differ between iPadOS versions.
A Focus is gentler. It can silence notifications and hide Home Screen pages, but you can still open other apps from search or the App Library. Use a Focus if that's enough. Use Downtime if it isn't.
Use Guided Access for a single session
For an hour of reading or writing, Guided Access locks the iPad to one app. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, turn it on, and set a passcode. Open your app, triple-click the top button (or the Home button on older iPads), and tap Start. You can set a time limit in the session options. To end the session, triple-click again and enter the passcode. See Apple's Guided Access instructions.
It's easy to undo, since you know the passcode. That's fine. The point is to make leaving a deliberate decision instead of a swipe.
Make it less interesting to pick up
A few smaller changes help:
- Turn off notifications for everything except the apps you kept for a job.
- Put the apps you kept on one Home Screen page and hide the other pages.
- Try grayscale if you mostly read on the iPad. The settings in how to make your iPhone boring work on an iPad too.
What if I need the iPad for work?
Keep the work apps. The goal is to remove the apps you open without a reason, not the ones that pay the bills.
If your work depends on a full web browser, this setup may not suit that iPad. Apply it to a personal iPad instead, or use Downtime so the stricter version only applies in the evenings.
Your iPad doesn't need to be a bigger phone. Give it the jobs it does well and remove the rest.