Christian apps to block websites and apps

Three things people mean by "block"

Some people searching this want protection: a filter that stops pornography and other harmful sites from loading at all, often with an accountability partner who sees a report. Others want less: fewer hours on feeds that are not harmful in themselves but eat the day. A third group wants order: the Bible before the phone, every morning.

These are different problems and no single app solves all three well. Knowing which one you have saves a lot of installing and deleting.

Content filters and accountability apps

Filters work at the network or browser level and block categories of sites. Accountability tools add a second person who receives reports of what was visited. They are the right choice when the problem is specific harmful content, and they are usually subscription products with accounts, because the reporting needs a server.

They do little for the ordinary morning scroll, because Instagram and YouTube are not on any filter's block list.

General app blockers

Apps such as Opal, one sec and ScreenZen, and the Screen Time limits built into iOS, limit or delay the apps you choose. They are built for everyone and say nothing about faith. Most rely on timers or a pause, and most have some way past the block, because a block with no way past frustrates their customers.

They are the right choice if your problem is total time on the phone across the day.

Scripture-first locks

The Doorpost is built for the third problem. The apps you name stay locked each morning until you have written out a verse from your own physical Bible by hand. The verse is not shown on screen, so the Bible has to open. Once written, the apps open for the day, the verse is kept, and the day is counted without any streak to protect.

It has no account, no ads and no tracking, and makes no network requests. It runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later and on Apple silicon Macs. It is free to download; the full version is $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year, or $19.99 once.

Apps that block inappropriate content vs. apps that block distraction

A useful way to decide: if the content itself is the danger, you need a filter, and possibly a person. If the time is the danger, you need a limit. If the order of the morning is the danger, you need a gate that puts Scripture first.

Many households run two of these at once: a filter on the network for the whole family, and The Doorpost on a personal phone to keep the feeds closed until the verse is written.

A note on Android and "brick" devices

The Doorpost is Apple-only. On Android, combine a general blocker with a printed Bible and a house rule that the verse comes first. Physical "brick" devices that disable apps until tapped are another route for people who want a hard stop; they block by object rather than by Scripture, which suits some and not others.