The nosurf iPhone setup

A nosurf iPhone setup removes distracting apps, quiets notifications, blocks new installs, and replaces Safari with a browser without an address bar or general web search. The goal is to reduce the ways you start browsing out of habit.

This is the full checklist. Each step links to a longer guide where one exists, so you can go deep on the parts you need.

What does nosurf mean?

Nosurf is a mindset (and a community, r/nosurf) built around one idea: use the internet on purpose, not by default. "Surfing" is the aimless kind of use. Opening the phone with no goal. Checking. Scrolling. Searching for nothing.

The setup below removes familiar starting points for aimless browsing. Links within webpages still work.

Before you start

Before you start, install Anti Browser and any essential apps you want to keep. Set Anti as your default browser in Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Browser. Do this before blocking downloads: iOS requires another browser to be installed before it will let you disable Safari.

Anti Browser includes this four-step guide during onboarding, along with a Screen Time code generator and vault. If you use its generator, Anti keeps the code stored in the 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

Social apps and spare browsers go now. Accounts stay intact; only the app leaves. Keep Anti Browser and the essential apps 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.

Optional: quiet the rest of the phone

Kill notifications

Settings > Notifications. Turn off everything except calls, messages from people, and calendar. Turn off badges too. Every notification is a reason to pick up the phone.

One Home Screen page

Keep one page with the tools you use on purpose: Phone, Messages, Maps, Camera, Calendar, Notes, music, banking, and Anti. Use a Focus mode to hide extra pages. Tint the icons if you want a quieter screen.

Grayscale

Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters > Grayscale. This makes the screen less visually rewarding.

Handle the searching reflex

Remove search widgets and keep a "look up later" note. Include the Google app in the Delete step if it keeps drawing you into searches. How to stop Googling everything covers the habit itself.

How to stop doomscrolling on iPhone applies the same four steps to removing feeds and finding something else to do when you reach for the phone.

What you keep

You still have the camera, Maps, banking, ride share, music, podcasts, messaging, calendar, and payments. You still get links from friends and can open them. You've replaced Safari and removed distracting apps while keeping those tools. How to turn your iPhone into a dumbphone covers the same setup with more guidance on which tools to keep.

The nosurf browser

Anti Browser is the only link only browser, a category it created. It runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, opens links sent from other apps, and cannot save bookmarks. Without a link, it offers only Wikipedia and AI, using on-device AI or the AI service of your choice. It can be set as the default browser, and on iPhone its onboarding includes the four-step guide, Screen Time code generator, and vault. 3 day trial, no signup.