How to make Screen Time hard to turn off

Screen Time stays on as long as you do not know the passcode. Have someone else set it, have them use their own Apple Account for recovery, and stop apps being deleted. Nothing on an iPhone makes it permanent. This makes turning it off something you have to ask for.

Who can turn Screen Time off?

Anyone with the Screen Time passcode. Apple says that once one is set, it must be entered “before you can change any Screen Time settings” (Apple). With no passcode, that is anyone holding the unlocked phone.

Anyone who can reset the passcode can also turn it off. A reset asks for the Apple Account email and password used to set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery, and Apple notes that this might be a different account from the one signed in on the phone (Apple).

How do you let someone else set the passcode?

Set up the filter and the app rules first, because every change after this needs the passcode. The filter steps are in how to block porn on an iPhone.

1. Hand the phone to the person you chose.
2. They open Settings, tap Screen Time, then Lock Screen Time Settings. On iOS 27 it is under Manage Screen Time.
3. They enter a four-digit passcode twice, without you watching.
4. For Screen Time Passcode Recovery, they enter their own Apple Account email or phone number and password.

If you enter your own account at step 4, you can reset the passcode yourself whenever you like. Choosing who to ask is covered in should I tell someone I am quitting.

How do you stop apps being deleted?

If apps can be deleted, a blocker can be deleted with them. Apple has a setting that stops it (Apple). On iOS 26:

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions.
2. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
3. Tap Deleting Apps and choose Don’t Allow.
4. Check that Deleting Apps reads Don’t Allow before you leave the screen.

On iOS 27, Apple puts Deleting Apps under Screen Time, Apps & Websites, Restrictions. While deleting is blocked, removing any app means someone with the passcode changing the setting back first, including for apps you want gone.

What are the limits?

• Recovery is a key. Whoever owns the recovery Apple Account can reset the passcode. Without that account, Apple says nobody can remove or reset it, Apple included. Pick someone who will still be reachable.
• The filter has gaps. A passcode keeps the setting on. It does not make the filter catch more. See Limit Adult Websites not working and Limit Adult Websites vs Only Approved Websites.
• It covers this phone. Other devices need their own settings.
• Erasing the iPhone sits outside every setting here.

Why blocking alone tends not to hold is in why blockers fail.

Where does Monke Reset fit?

Monke Reset uses Apple’s Screen Time to block adult sites at the system level, plus the apps you pick. The same rule applies to it: anyone with the Screen Time passcode can switch it off, so everything above still matters.

What it adds is the part a passcode does not touch. A Help screen is one tap away when an urge arrives. The calendar keeps your record when you slip, so a slip costs one day rather than all of them. A 90-day plan gives the days an end date. It all stays on your phone.