How to Block Truth Social on iPhone
A Screen Time App Limit locks the Truth Social app icon, but truthsocial.com loads the same feed in Safari, and notifications run through a separate iOS setting entirely.
Blocking Truth Social on iPhone starts with a Screen Time App Limit set under the Social category, the same tool iOS uses for any other app. That limit only reaches the app icon: truthsocial.com loads the identical feed in Safari, and push notifications arrive through a setting Screen Time doesn't touch at all, so a complete block costs a few extra minutes closing both gaps. Screen Time is Apple's built-in usage-management framework, and it enforces the limit — not Truth Social, and not any third-party app.
How do you set a Screen Time limit on Truth Social?
- Open Settings → Screen Time → App Limits.
- Tap Add Limit, then choose Social — the category Truth Social falls under in Apple's classification — or search for Truth Social directly and select just that app.
- Set a time allowance, including 0 minutes if the goal is a full block rather than a cap.
- Choose the days it applies.
- Tap Add.
Set a Screen Time passcode under Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings, separate from your device passcode, if you haven't already — without one, the limit can be removed the moment it becomes inconvenient. Menu wording shifts slightly between iOS versions, but the App Limits path itself has held steady for years.
Does blocking the Truth Social app also block truthsocial.com?
No. An App Limit only recognizes the Truth Social app icon — it does nothing to truthsocial.com opened in Safari, which serves the full site: the same posts, the same timeline, the same account, with no feature held back for the app only.
To close this, go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Content Restrictions → Web Content, choose Limit Adult Websites, and add truthsocial.com to the "Never Allow" list. This covers Safari on this device only — it has no effect on any other browser installed on the phone, each of which needs its own App Limit or the same website restriction added separately, as covered in the guide on blocking Safari on iPhone.
Does an App Limit on Truth Social stop its notifications too?
No, and this is the gap most App Limits leave open on any app. Screen Time governs whether the app icon opens; iOS notification permissions are a completely separate system that a time limit never touches. Set the App Limit to 0 minutes and Truth Social still delivers push alerts to the Lock Screen and badge counts to the icon, and tapping one opens the app straight past whatever limit was just set.
To stop that, go to Settings → Notifications → Truth Social and turn off Allow Notifications, or switch delivery to a scheduled summary if silence isn't the goal. This is a separate step from the App Limit above — doing one without the other leaves the notification half of the app fully live.
Is Truth Social's feed built on Mastodon?
Yes, at the code level. Truth Social's client and server software started as a fork of Mastodon, the open-source social-networking platform. What changes the blocking math is how it's deployed: Mastodon itself is federated across thousands of independently operated servers, each on its own domain, which is what makes blocking Mastodon on iPhone a genuinely hard, multi-domain problem. Truth Social isn't deployed that way — it runs as a single, company-operated service reachable at one domain, truthsocial.com, so the Web Content step above closes the entire website, not a fraction of it.
On the interface itself, the Home timeline runs as a mostly time-ordered stream of accounts you follow, consistent with its Mastodon-derived base, while separate sections surface suggested or trending content chosen by other signals. That combination — a chronological base plus a recommendation layer alongside it — sits between a purely chronological timeline and a fully algorithmic one, and it's the interface a reader is actually working against once the App Limit's countdown runs out.
What's the most realistic way to actually block Truth Social?
| Approach | What it does | Honest verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Time App Limit on Truth Social (Social) | Blocks the app icon on this iPhone after the set time | Does nothing to truthsocial.com or to notifications; easy to override with Ignore Limit |
| Downtime schedule | Blocks Truth Social (and most apps) during set hours | Good for a fixed no-app window each day; still a single-device fix |
| Deleting the app | Removes the icon and app from this iPhone | truthsocial.com in Safari still works, and notifications stop only because the app is gone, not because a setting changed |
| Blocking truthsocial.com in Content Restrictions | Closes the Safari loophole on this device | Necessary alongside an App Limit, not a substitute for it |
| Turning off Allow Notifications for Truth Social | Stops push alerts and badge counts specifically | Doesn't limit time once the app is open; pairs with an App Limit rather than replacing it |
| Conditional unlock (e.g., Step N Scroll) | Keeps Truth Social locked on the iPhone until a daily step goal, set via Apple Health, is met | Adds a real cost to unlocking beyond a passcode tap; doesn't suit people who want a fully free tool, can't walk much, or use Android — there's no Android version |
For managing more than one app at once, the same App Limit, Content Restriction, and notification steps apply per app — the full list of app guides covers the rest one at a time.
What can't a Screen Time block fix?
No setting here makes Truth Social impossible to open. Content & Privacy Restrictions can be changed, Notifications can be switched back on, the blocking app can be deleted, and Screen Time itself can be reset by whoever knows the passcode. An App Limit that worked cleanly the first week commonly gets tapped through by the third, once the passcode prompt stops registering as a decision — the guide on why App Limits stop working covers that pattern in general, and it applies here the same as on any app with a limit set against it.
Screen Time, the Web Content restriction, and the notification toggle each add friction at a different point — app icon, browser, and Lock Screen — but none of them removes the ability to change course. Whoever holds the Screen Time passcode holds all three settings at once.
FAQ
Does a Screen Time App Limit on Truth Social also block truthsocial.com in Safari?
No. An App Limit only recognizes the Truth Social app icon, not the website. truthsocial.com serves the full site in Safari, so block it separately under Content & Privacy Restrictions → Content Restrictions → Web Content.
Does an App Limit on Truth Social stop its notifications too?
No. Notifications are controlled by a completely separate iOS system from Screen Time. Turn them off under Settings → Notifications → Truth Social → Allow Notifications, or push alerts and badge counts keep arriving even while the app itself is locked.
What happens when I tap "Ignore Limit" on Truth Social?
iOS unlocks Truth Social for one more minute, 15 more minutes, or the rest of the day, depending on what you choose. If a Screen Time passcode is set, it asks for that code first, which is the main thing that makes the button harder to tap on autopilot.
Is Truth Social's feed actually built on Mastodon?
Yes, at the code level — its client and server software began as a fork of Mastodon, the open-source social platform. Unlike Mastodon itself, which is federated across thousands of independent servers, Truth Social runs as a single company-operated service on one domain, which is why blocking the website here only means adding one hostname, not dozens.
Is Truth Social available outside the United States?
In App Store markets checked at publication, including the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil, Truth Social's listing is live. App Store availability by country can change, so search the App Store directly in yours to confirm before assuming this guide applies.
Can an app like Step N Scroll see what I post or view on Truth Social?
No. Apple's Family Controls framework gives third-party apps opaque tokens representing blocked apps, not the app's identity or any activity inside it. Developers in this category cannot see that you're blocking Truth Social specifically, let alone what you posted or read.
Sources
- Apple Support — "Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone"
- Apple Support — "Set content and privacy restrictions on iPhone"
- Apple Support — "Use notifications on your iPhone or iPad"
- Apple Support — "Family Controls and Screen Time API overview"
Step N Scroll is a habit and screen-time tool, not a medical device. Nothing here is medical advice.