Why blocking Facebook specifically
Facebook's average daily session on iOS in 2026 is 33 minutes (data.ai). The demographic skews older than Instagram or TikTok (median user age in the US: 42), and the time-waste surfaces have shifted: Reels and Stories now drive more of the session than the traditional News Feed. Marketplace is also a real loss for people who treat it as window-shopping rather than as a transactional tool.
The Facebook-specific quirk: many users keep Facebook installed solely because of a single Group (a school parent group, a local community, a buy-sell-trade group) and tell themselves they "only use it for that". The Screen Time data is usually unkind to that claim. Audit the actual minutes before deciding to keep it.
Method 1: App Limit (Facebook + Messenger)
How: Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit > (uncheck all) > Social > check Facebook and Messenger separately. Set a combined daily time (15-30 min is reasonable). Add.
When to use: first attempt. Most users skip Messenger and wonder why total social time hasn't dropped.
Method 2: Screen Time passcode
How: Settings > Screen Time > Use Screen Time Passcode > ideally held by someone else.
When to use: after Method 1 fails.
Method 3: Delete the app and block facebook.com
How: Hold Facebook icon > Remove App > Delete App. Also delete Messenger. Then Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Web Content > Never Allow > add facebook.com, m.facebook.com, mbasic.facebook.com (lightweight mobile site, very functional), and messenger.com.
Strength: 5/10 with all URLs blocked; 1/10 if you only delete the app. The mbasic version of Facebook is so lightweight it works on a 2010-era phone, so blocking facebook.com alone is insufficient.
When to use: 14-day experiment. The longer span matters because Facebook habits tend to be tied to specific external triggers (birthday notification, event invite, message from a parent) that arrive on weekly rather than daily cycles.
Method 4: Content Restrictions
How: Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases > Installing Apps > Don't Allow. Combined with Method 3 the device is Facebook-free.
When to use: after deciding for an extended Facebook break.
Method 5: Add a verified-exercise consequence
How: Daily limit in iOS Screen Time. Install ScreenFine. Facebook and Messenger both count toward the daily total. Going over triggers a 25-pushup lock per 15-minute block.
When to use: when you want to keep one specific Group or Marketplace access but the daily total drifts up by 5-10 minutes each week regardless.