How to Block X (Twitter) on iPhone, Including NSFW Media

Two reasons people block X

Most people who want X (Twitter) off their iPhone fall into one of two groups. The first is the doomscroller: the For You feed is built around outrage and breaking news, and "just checking" turns into an hour of anxiety. The second is people trying to stay away from explicit content. Since 2024, X has formally allowed consensually produced adult content as long as it's labelled. Much of it is labelled, but you are one tap from seeing it, and the recommendation feed keeps testing what you'll engage with.

Both groups face the same fact: X has no "safe mode" that you can't switch off again in a second.

Option 1: X's own settings plus Screen Time

To hide sensitive media in the X app:

1. Tap your profile picture, then Settings and privacy → Privacy and safety → Content you see.
2. Untick Display media that may contain sensitive content.

To limit the app itself with iPhone Screen Time:

1. Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit, choose X under Social.
2. Set 1 minute and enable Block at End of Limit.
3. Under Content & Privacy Restrictions → Web Content → Limit Adult Websites, add x.com and twitter.com to Never Allow.

Where those settings fall short

• The sensitive-media setting is tied to your account and takes one tap to undo. It also relies on uploaders labelling their posts correctly, and many don't.
• Screen Time's "Ignore Limit" button and a passcode you chose yourself don't add much friction.
• A second account, or browsing x.com while logged out, avoids your account-level settings entirely.

Option 2: Block X at the DNS level with NoorI

NoorI stops your iPhone from reaching X's servers at all, whichever app, browser or account you use.

1. Enroll your iPhone with the free Cloudflare One app. See the iPhone setup guide.
2. In Content Policy, create a rule, open the Apps tab and pick X (Twitter). That blocks x.com, twitter.com, twimg.com (where images and video are served) and t.co (X's link shortener).
3. Save, swipe the X app closed, and reopen it to confirm the feed no longer loads.

Blocking a specific app needs Pro ($9.99/month, 7-day free trial). The Free plan's Basic preset blocks porn sites, but X is a general social network and isn't on that list.

Side effects worth knowing about

• t.co links break everywhere. Any link shared from X, whether in an email, a newsletter or a group chat, goes through t.co and will show the block page. Most people find this helpful.
• Posts embedded on news sites show up empty, because they load from X's domains.
• "Sign in with X" on third-party sites stops working.
• Grok has its own domains. If you also want it gone, add it as a custom domain in the same rule (Pro).

Make it stick: Guardian Mode

Guardian Mode (Pro) adds a second person to the loop. You invite someone you trust, such as a partner, friend, sponsor or accountability buddy, from Settings → Guardian Mode. Once they accept and you switch it on, these changes need their approval: editing or deleting a rule, pausing protection, unlocking your profile, and disconnecting NoorI. Adding a new block never needs approval, because it only makes you safer.

When you ask to unlock, your guardian gets an email. Even if they approve, nothing opens right away. There is a mandatory delay of at least 4 hours (24 hours by default), then a 30-minute window to make changes, then everything locks again by itself. A request your guardian never answers expires after 48 hours. A guardian also can't be removed for the first 2 days after they accept, so you can't invite a second email address you own and quietly delete it.

On iPhone, pair this with Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → iTunes & App Store Purchases → Deleting Apps → Don't Allow so Cloudflare One can't simply be deleted, and give the Screen Time passcode to your guardian as well.

Blocking X for a child?

Blocking this for a child instead? The same steps work, but a managed child profile with its own rules is a better fit than sharing your account. See setting different rules for different children.

Frequently asked questions

Can I block only NSFW content on X but keep the app?

Not at the network level. Adult and safe posts come from the same X domains and image servers, so DNS cannot separate them. X's sensitive-media setting is the only per-post filter, and you can turn it off again easily.

Does blocking twitter.com also block x.com?

NoorI's X entry blocks both, along with twimg.com and t.co. Blocking only one of them would leave the service reachable.

Will this stop X notifications?

Push notifications reach the phone through Apple's notification service, so an alert can still appear, but tapping it won't load anything. Turn X notifications off in iOS Settings to stop the prompts.