Limit Adult Websites blocks normal sites

The filter blocks what Apple's system detects as adult, and detection makes mistakes in both directions. When it blocks a normal site, add that site to the allowed list and keep the filter on. The full setup is in how to block porn on an iPhone.

Why does it block normal sites?

Apple describes the setting as one that will "automatically limit access to detected adult websites" (Apple). It doesn't publish how detection works, and you can't see its list.

The best-known mistake was the word "asian". In February 2021, The Loop reported that with Limit Adult Websites on, Safari blocked searches such as "Asian Food" with a page saying it was restricted (The Loop). iMore reported in March 2021 that the iOS 14.5 beta fixed it (iMore). That bug is gone, but the same kind of mistake can still hit a health site, a news story or a search with one unlucky word in it.

How to let a blocked site through

Do this for the one site you need. Switching the filter to Unrestricted to read one page leaves it off for every other page too.

On iOS 27:

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Apps & Websites. It keeps an Allowed list and a Blocked list.
3. Tap the Add button and enter the site's address so it goes on Allowed.

Apple documents the Add button and the Allowed and Blocked lists for a child's iPhone and hasn't yet published the same steps for your own, so if your screen words it differently, look for the Allowed list under Apps & Websites.

On iOS 26:

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions.
2. Tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, then Web Content.
3. With Limit Adult Websites chosen, tap Add Website in the list of sites that are always allowed. Never Allow is the other list.
4. Enter the site's address.

If a passcode is set, you need it for any of these steps.

Keep the allowed list short

Everything on the allowed list skips the filter for good, so add only the site you actually need, by its own address. Avoid adding a search engine's whole domain to fix one search. Rephrase the search instead, or open the site you were looking for directly.

Every so often, check the list and delete anything that shouldn't be on it. A site that was allowed from Safari's block page on a weak night ends up there too, which is covered in Limit Adult Websites not working.

If the filter blocks too little instead

The same detection misses sites as well. Add those to the Blocked list on iOS 27, or under Never Allow on iOS 26. If you'd rather block everything except a list you keep, compare the strict option in Limit Adult Websites vs Only Approved Websites.