The short version
- LeadMeNot: our pick for accountability.
- Apple Screen Time: Free.
- Covenant Eyes: pick it if you want screenshots.
- BlockerX: pick it for a Panic Switch.
- Canopy: pick it for image filtering.
Start with the free option: Apple's Limit Adult Websites filter lives in Screen Time and blocks a long list of adult sites in Safari.1 If all you need is a speed bump in Safari, turn that on, hand the passcode to someone else, and you're done. Our step-by-step covers it.
Paid blockers earn their place by doing three things Apple's filter doesn't: telling someone when a line is crossed, blocking the apps you choose, and making it hard to switch off. Here's how the well-known ones compare on those.
One honest note about iPhone first: Apple doesn't let any app see inside another app. So on iPhone, every blocker filters Safari (and sometimes other browsers) and blocks or limits whole apps. None can remove just one part of the Instagram app. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
At a glance
A dash means we couldn't verify it from the app's own site or a named review, not that the app lacks it. Scroll sideways to see every app. Checked November 6, 2026.
| Feature | LeadMeNot | Apple Screen Time | Covenant Eyes | BlockerX | Canopy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocks porn | Built-in Adult Websites & Apps list | Limit Adult Websites, plus sites you add1 | Yes, and on iPhone inside apps too2 | Blocks explicit content in browsers and many popular apps5 | |
| Blocks the apps you choose | iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac | App Limits and Downtime6 | Android only, by locking apps behind a PIN7 | On smartphones and tablets5 | |
| Keywords and phrases | Inside apps on Android, Windows and Mac; Safari on iPhone; Chrome on Chromebook | ✕Filters websites, not words1 | ✕Not one of its blocking features2 | Web pages containing your words, on Android3 | —Not compared |
| Someone you trust is told | Alerted when a rule is broken, plus evening reflections | Only a child in Family Sharing, who asks a parent for more time6 | Reports and alerts to an ally from its screenshots2 | An accountability partner: a person or an AI “Ally”5 | |
| Hard to undo in a weak moment | Safe Wall: your partner's OK or a waiting period | One More Minute, Ignore Limit for Today, or the passcode6 | —Not compared | —Not compared | |
| Images and video | Text only today; image detection is in development | —Not compared | —Not compared | Replaces explicit images and video with white boxes, in browsers and some apps5 | |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook | Apple devices only | iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac. Not Chromebook2 | —Not compared | Phones, tablets and computers; 1, up to 3, or up to 10 devices, depending on plan5 |
Blocks porn
Blocks the apps you choose
Keywords and phrases
Someone you trust is told
- LeadMeNotAlerted when a rule is broken, plus evening reflections
- Apple Screen TimeOnly a child in Family Sharing, who asks a parent for more time6
- Covenant EyesReports and alerts to an ally from its screenshots2
- BlockerXDaily browsing reports to your partner; alerts if it's uninstalled or its VPN is turned off3,4
- CanopyAn accountability partner: a person or an AI “Ally”5
Hard to undo in a weak moment
Images and video
Devices
The picks, one by one
Our pick for accountability
LeadMeNot
Switch on the Adult Websites & Apps list once; block the apps you choose using Apple's own Screen Time permission; block part of a site like youtube.com/shorts in Safari; and a partner is emailed when a rule is broken, with Safe Wall so loosening a rule needs their OK or a waiting period. One account also covers your iPad, Android, Windows, Mac and Chromebook.
Where it falls short: Text only today: it reads addresses, searches, keywords and app names, not images. Keywords work in Safari, not inside other apps on iPhone.
Free
Apple Screen Time
Built into every iPhone. Limit Adult Websites blocks known adult sites in Safari, App Limits and Downtime cover apps, and you can add sites to Never Allow.1,6
Pick something else if: Nobody is told, and whoever knows the Screen Time passcode can switch it off or tap Ignore Limit for Today. No keywords, no partner.
Pick this if you want screenshots
Covenant Eyes
Blocks explicit sites, on iPhone inside apps too, and its Screen Accountability sends an ally reports built from AI-reviewed screenshots, images and video included.2,9
Pick something else if: No time limits or schedules (it suggests pairing with Screen Time), whole domains only on its custom block list, no keyword blocking, and no Chromebook.
Pick this for a Panic Switch
BlockerX
An adult content filter in Safari and Chrome, daily browsing reports to a partner, an alert if it's uninstalled or its VPN is turned off, and a Panic Switch that cuts off all internet access in a hard moment.3,4
Pick something else if: Partner reports are daily summaries rather than an alert when a rule is broken; app and keyword blocking are on its Android listing, not its iPhone one.
Pick this for image filtering
Canopy
Real-time AI filtering that replaces explicit images and video with white boxes in browsers and many popular apps, with an accountability partner (a person or an AI Ally) and plans for adults as well as families.5
Pick something else if: App blocking is on smartphones and tablets; it's best known as a parental control, and we couldn't verify keyword rules or time limits.
How we chose
LeadMeNot wrote this guide, so our own app is in it. To keep it fair: every fact about another app links to its source (the app's own site where possible), each one gets a plain line on who should pick it instead, and the table only shows what we could verify. A dash means we couldn't confirm it, not that the app lacks it.
We looked at the three things that decide whether a blocker still works a month later: what you can block (not just a list of adult sites, but the apps, places and words that are the problem for you), whether anyone is told when a line is crossed, and whether a weak moment can undo it. Free built-in tools are listed first wherever they exist, because a lot of people need nothing more.
LeadMeNot
Try it with someone in your corner
LeadMeNot blocks what you choose, tells someone you trust when a rule is broken, and makes a weak moment wait. Free to try on every device you own.
Questions
What is the best free porn blocker for iPhone?
Apple's own Screen Time: Limit Adult Websites in Content & Privacy Restrictions, plus App Limits and Downtime. It's free and built in. Its weakness is that nobody is told when it's switched off, and the passcode is the only lock.
Can any iPhone app block porn inside other apps?
Apple doesn't let one app see inside another. Blockers filter Safari (and sometimes other browsers) and can block or limit whole apps. Covenant Eyes states that its explicit-site blocking works inside apps on iPhone; LeadMeNot blocks or time-limits whole apps and filters Safari.
Which iPhone porn blocker tells someone when I slip?
LeadMeNot emails your partner when a monitored rule is broken. Covenant Eyes sends an ally reports from screenshots. BlockerX sends daily browsing reports. Canopy has an accountability partner feature. Apple's Screen Time tells nobody.
Sources
Checked November 7, 2026. Statements about other products and system features link to the page they come from.
- Tom's Guide: how to block websites on iPhone and iPad (independent)
- Covenant Eyes: The Covenant Eyes app is now Victory (official)
- BlockerX's Google Play description (updated Oct 27, 2026, shown on AppGoblin) (official)
- BlockerX's App Store description (shown on MWM) (official)
- Canopy: our technology (official)
- AirDroid: Screen Time's Ignore Limit option (updated May 15, 2026) (independent)
- Covenant Eyes help: How does the Victory Shield Android app work? (official)
- Covenant Eyes help: Uninstall Codes (official)
- Covenant Eyes blog: custom block lists (updated Apr 30, 2026) (official)