Guide
How to Block Games on iPhone When You Keep Reinstalling Them
An app rating cap and purchase restrictions block mobile games for free. A cloud save undoes deleting the app in under a minute.
Screen Time blocks mobile games on iPhone for free with an app rating cap plus install and purchase restrictions, in under two minutes. It stops working when you delete the game and reinstall it, since most games restore your progress from a cloud save the moment you set the passcode back to what it was.
The free way: blocking games with Screen Time
Open Settings, tap Screen Time, turn it on, choose This is My iPhone. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, switch it on. Tap Content Restrictions, then Apps, and set the age rating cap below the game's rating, most commonly below 12+.
Then set iTunes & App Store Purchases, Installing Apps to Don't Allow, and In-app Purchases to Don't Allow, so a new copy cannot be downloaded and spending stops even if one slips through.
Why deleting the game does not stick
Most mobile games sync progress to a cloud save tied to your account, so deleting the app removes the icon, not your progress. A reinstall from the App Store brings the exact same game state back in under a minute, which is why deleting alone is rarely a real stop.
- Deleting the game: cloud save restores your progress in under a minute.
- Screen Time's app limit: Ignore Limit, no cost, every time.
- Spending caps: you stop losing money, you still lose the hours.
What changes with a passcode you never see
Get0 sets the same rating cap and purchase restrictions, then holds the Screen Time passcode instead of you. We speak it once, you type what you hear without seeing the digits, and the countdown starts the moment you lock, for the length you pick: 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days. The passcode is emailed automatically when it hits zero.
It costs $7 a month, $77 a year, or $177 once, billed as Zero Software, with nothing installed on the phone.
How much this actually gets searched
We do not have a verified, isolated search volume number for this specific term from our current keyword data. It is grouped with app blocking generally rather than measured as its own cluster, so we are not claiming a precise figure here.
Questions people actually ask
Does this block Game Center too?
Yes. A hidden app cannot launch, whether it uses Game Center or not.
What about my kids' games on my own phone?
Anything rated above the cap you set gets hidden. Set the cap to match what you actually want blocked in your household.
Does turning off In-app Purchases stop spending on games I have not hidden?
Yes, that restriction applies across the App Store, not only to the games you cap by rating.
Can I get the passcode early if I ask?
No. The clock starts the moment you lock and the passcode is emailed when it hits zero. There is no early release, not for support, not for an emergency.