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Why Screen Time Doesn't Actually Block Facebook or Reddit

iOS Screen Time app limits include a default Ignore Limit option that removes the restriction on Facebook or Reddit instantly, with no separate approval required unless a Screen Time passcode has been set up under Family Sharing, which most people don't do for their own device.

Facebook and Reddit don't have Explore grids or Shorts shelves to turn off. What they have is an all-or-nothing block, and the tool most people reach for first, iOS Screen Time, comes with a button that undoes it in one tap. This is why that happens, and what closes the gap.

What Screen Time's app limit actually is

Set a daily limit on Facebook or Reddit, and the app goes gray with a lock screen once you hit it. That's the entire mechanism. The screen that appears has a button on it: Ignore Limit for one more minute, or for the rest of the day. Tap it, and the limit is gone until tomorrow.

That button isn't a bug. Apple's own documentation states plainly that Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached by default.[1] The restriction exists, and so does the way around it, built into the same screen.

Why Facebook and Reddit don't have smaller toggles

Most platforms in this library get a specific fix, hide Shorts, remove Reels, default to Following, because there's a specific recommendation surface doing the damage. Facebook's feed ranking and Reddit's front page don't split apart the same way into a named feature you can target individually. There's no Shorts shelf to hide. The whole feed is the thing.

That's why DoomOff treats both platforms with one switch each: block the site entirely, or leave it alone. Not because the toggles weren't built out, but because a partial fix doesn't correspond to anything real on either platform right now.

What actually holds a block

The difference between Screen Time's block and a Safari extension's block isn't strictness, it's where the decision happens. Screen Time asks you, in the moment, whether to keep the limit, which is the exact moment willpower is weakest. A site-level block through a Safari extension has no Ignore Limit button on the same screen. Getting past it means turning the extension off deliberately, in Settings, which is a different, slower decision than a single tap on a lock screen.

What this looks like in DoomOff

Facebook and Reddit both get the same option: block the site entirely, replacing it with a plain screen instead of the app. There's a break-glass unlock built in for the rare case you actually need in, fifteen minutes, once a day, so the block isn't absolute. It's just not one tap away, which turns out to be most of the difference.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Screen Time not actually block Facebook or Reddit?
Screen Time app limits include an Ignore Limit option that removes the restriction immediately, by default. Without a Screen Time passcode set through Family Sharing, that option requires no approval from anyone else, so the block only holds as long as you choose not to tap it.
Do Facebook and Reddit have partial settings like other platforms?
No. Unlike Instagram or YouTube, Facebook and Reddit don't offer feed-level toggles worth targeting individually. Both apps are effectively all-or-nothing, which is why DoomOff treats them as a single block-the-whole-site switch rather than a set of content toggles.
Can a Screen Time passcode prevent Ignore Limit from working?
Yes, but only through Family Sharing, where a separate account holds the passcode and approves or denies requests. Set up on your own device without another account managing it, there's no passcode barrier between you and the Ignore Limit button.