LatchAn app blocker that actually works, and why most don't
Most app blockers fail for one of three reasons: you know the passcode that turns them off, the limit screen lets you carry on with a tap, or you can delete the blocked app and reinstall it. A blocker holds when getting back in takes something outside the phone, when it can stop apps being deleted and reinstalled while you're locked, when it has a mode that can't be ended early, and when its emergency exit is limited. Latch is built that way: your apps unlock when you scan a key kept somewhere else. It isn't escape-proof, and the honest list of its exits is below.
We make Latch, so read this with that in mind. Screen Time details come from Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 26 and iOS 27, checked October 2026, and link to their sources. This page doesn't explain ways around Screen Time or any other blocker.
Why most app blockers are easy to bypass
You hold the passcode
When you set Screen Time up for yourself, you choose the passcode that protects it. Apple describes it as "a passcode that you must enter before changing Screen Time settings you selected for yourself", and offers Passcode Recovery so "you can use your Apple Account to reset your Screen Time passcode if you ever forget it" (Apple). That's sensible for a settings lock. It also means the person the limit is meant to stop is the one person who can lift it. Many third-party blockers have the same shape: a PIN, a password or a settings toggle that you control.
The limit asks, it doesn't stop
Apple's iOS 26 guide says plainly: "By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached." Downtime only blocks apps if you set a Screen Time passcode and turn on Block at Downtime. Otherwise, "you see a reminder that it's downtime, but you can choose to continue using the apps" (Apple). A screen you can dismiss in half a second won't stop a habit that runs dozens of times a day.
Delete, reinstall, carry on
If deleting a blocked app and downloading it again, or removing the blocker itself, ends the block, the block only lasts until you think of it.
The way out is too easy
Every good blocker needs an emergency exit. If the exit has no limit and no cost, it stops being for emergencies and becomes the normal way in.
What Screen Time does on iOS 26 and iOS 27
Screen Time is free, built in and worth using, especially for its weekly report. On iOS 26, you schedule time away from apps under Settings › Screen Time › Downtime, and set per-app or per-category limits under App Limits (Apple). On iOS 27, Apple reorganised this into Screen Time Schedule and Time Allowances: "Tap Screen Time, tap Screen Time Schedule, then turn on Schedule", and each time window shows which Time Allowance categories are available (Apple). On iOS 27, Screen Time's App Store settings can also block installing apps (Apple).
The weak spot is the same on both versions when you use it on yourself: the settings are guarded by a passcode you know. The most reliable fix inside Screen Time is to let someone you trust set the passcode and not tell you. If you've forgotten your own passcode, Apple's page on changing your Screen Time passcode covers resetting it with your Apple Account. Our guide Why Screen Time limits don't work goes into this in more detail.
What makes an app blocker hold
| What to look for | How Latch does it |
|---|---|
| The unlock is outside the phone | Your key is an NFC sticker, a printed QR code, or, with Latch Pro, 500 to 20,000 steps. There's no passcode to remember and no button that skips it |
| A hard lock | On iPhone, Hard lock can stop deleting apps, installing apps and in-app purchases while you're locked. On Android it blocks installing apps and the Play Store, so a deleted app can't come back until you unlock |
| A mode you can't end early | Commitment mode (Latch Pro) keeps a profile locked for 30 minutes to 8 hours, and not even your key opens it early |
| A limited emergency exit | Break glass opens your apps for 5 to 15 minutes, three times a month, and they lock again on their own |
| Locks without you deciding | Schedules, arriving at a place, while driving, Siri ("Latch my phone") or Google Assistant |
Latch's own escape hatches
No app on a phone you own can be impossible to get around, and we'd rather you know Latch's limits before you rely on it:
- Break glass. Three times a month you can open your apps for 5 to 15 minutes without your key. If you lose your key, Break glass can end the session instead, which uses one of the three.
- Screen Time access on iPhone. iOS always lets you revoke an app's Screen Time access in Settings, and Latch can't stop that. While access is off nothing is blocked, but your lock isn't over: turn access back on and it picks up where it left off.
- Android. Latch blocks apps with Android's accessibility service. Hard lock on Android doesn't block deleting apps, and Latch never stops itself from being turned off or uninstalled.
- A copied QR code. Someone determined could photograph a printed QR key. If a copy gets out, print a new code and the old one stops working. NFC stickers can't be photographed.
What Latch adds is friction you can't skip with a tap. Getting back in means a walk to the fridge, one of a few Break glass uses a month, or a trip into Settings that doesn't end the lock. For most people, most of the time, that's enough.
An app blocker that can't be deleted?
On iPhone, Latch's Hard lock can stop apps from being deleted while you're locked, so a blocked app can't be removed and reinstalled to get around the lock. On Android, Hard lock blocks installing apps and the Play Store instead: if you delete a blocked app, it can't come back until you unlock. Latch on Android doesn't stop itself from being uninstalled.
Which should you use?
Screen Time is enough if
- someone else holds your passcode
- you mostly want reports and reminders
- you're managing a child's iPhone with Family Sharing
Try Latch if
- you know your own passcode and use it
- you want the unlock to be a walk, not a tap
- you want a lock that can't be ended early for a few hours
- you also use Android
Common questions
Is there an app blocker that actually works?
One that holds puts the unlock outside the phone, stops apps being deleted and reinstalled while you're locked, and limits its emergency exit. Latch unlocks only when you scan a key you keep somewhere else, its Hard lock can stop deleting and installing apps, and Break glass is limited to three times a month.
Why don't Screen Time limits work for me?
When you set Screen Time up for yourself, you know the passcode. Apple's iOS 26 guide says that by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached, and Downtime only blocks apps if you set a passcode and turn on Block at Downtime.
Is there an app blocker that can't be deleted?
On iPhone, Latch's Hard lock can stop apps from being deleted while you're locked. iOS always lets you turn off an app's Screen Time access in Settings, but with Latch the lock picks up where it left off when access is back on. On Android, Latch blocks installing apps and the Play Store while locked, and doesn't stop itself from being uninstalled.
Can I get around Latch?
Yes, in a few limited ways, and we list them: Break glass three times a month, turning off Screen Time access on iPhone (the lock resumes when it's back on), and uninstalling Latch on Android. Latch adds friction you can't skip with a tap; it isn't a safe.
What changed in Screen Time on iOS 27?
Apple's iOS 27 guide describes Screen Time Schedule and Time Allowances, set in Settings › Screen Time. Your settings are still guarded by a Screen Time passcode, which you can reset with your Apple Account if you set up Passcode Recovery.
Does this page explain how to bypass Screen Time?
No. If you've forgotten your own Screen Time passcode, Apple's support page on changing your Screen Time passcode explains how to reset it with your Apple Account.
Put the unlock somewhere you have to walk to
Latch is out now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Google Play (Android 9 and later). It's free to start, and Latch Pro is $9.99 once.
Last updated by Sudarshan Neupane, founder of Lukla Logic. See also: Screen Time vs Latch, why Screen Time limits don't work and all app blockers compared.