How to stop doomscrolling on iPhone

To stop doomscrolling on iPhone, delete the apps that keep pulling you into feeds, block new installs, and replace Safari so the same habit doesn't move into the browser. Keep the tools you need for calls, messages, directions, banking, and everyday tasks.

The setup follows four steps: Block Downloads, Block Safari, Delete, and Lock. Afterward, quiet the notifications and Home Screen for the apps you keep.

Why is it so hard to stop doomscrolling on iPhone?

An endless feed gives you something new with every swipe and no clear place to stop. Notifications bring you back, and having the app within reach makes opening it easy to repeat without thinking.

Moving an app into a folder leaves the feed available. Deleting it removes that easy entry point. Blocking downloads helps keep it off the phone when you feel the urge to reinstall it.

Before you start

Choose the essential apps you want to keep. Install anything you still need, including Anti Browser, before blocking downloads. Set Anti as your default browser in Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Browser. iOS requires another browser to be installed before it will let you disable Safari.

Anti is a link only browser: it opens links from other apps and has no URL bar, search engine, or tabs. Replacing Safari helps prevent the habit of deleting a social app and immediately opening its website instead.

Anti Browser includes the four-step guide below during onboarding, along with a Screen Time code generator and vault. If you use the generator, Anti stores the code in its vault in case you ever need it.

1. Block Downloads

Turn off new installs so the apps you delete can't come back.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enable Content & Privacy Restrictions.
5. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
6. Tap Installing Apps.
7. Set to Don't Allow.

2. Block Safari

One browser is enough. With Anti set as your default, links sent to your browser open in Anti.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enable Content & Privacy Restrictions.
5. Tap Allowed Apps & Features.
6. Turn Safari off.

3. Delete

On home screen

Delete the social, news, and video apps you keep scrolling through, along with spare browsers. Removing an app from the Home Screen leaves it available in the App Library; choose Delete App to remove it from the phone. Your accounts stay intact. Keep Anti Browser and the essential tools you chose earlier.

1. Long press on a social media app or another browser.
2. Tap Remove App.
3. Tap Delete App and confirm deletion.
4. Repeat for other distracting apps.

4. Lock

A Screen Time passcode keeps the settings above out of reach of a bad five minutes.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
4. Have a friend or family member set a code, or use the code generator in Anti Browser. Anti keeps the generated code stored in its vault in case you ever need it.

Keep the feeds off your phone

Using a social site's web version can bring the same feed back after you've deleted the app. If that's already happening, see what to do when you've deleted social media but still use it in Safari. Anti has no ability to save bookmarks, so you can't build a list of social sites inside it. If you need to check an account, set aside time on a computer instead of making it available whenever you pick up your phone.

Links can still lead to distracting pages. When someone sends you an article, read what you came for and close it when you're done.

Quiet the apps you keep

Open Settings > Notifications and turn off notifications and badges you don't need. Keep alerts for people and time-sensitive tasks, such as messages and calendar reminders.

Reduce the Home Screen to the tools you use on purpose. If a less colorful screen helps, turn on Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters > Grayscale. How to make your iPhone boring has more on these optional changes.

What to do with the empty time

You may still reach for the phone out of habit. Give yourself something specific to do instead: read a book, write a note, listen to a podcast, or put the phone down and take a walk. Keep those alternatives easy to reach.

For the same four-step setup with more guidance on which apps to keep, see how to turn your iPhone into a dumbphone. The nosurf iPhone setup adds ways to reduce notifications and the searching reflex.