You can turn an iPhone into a dumbphone without buying a new phone. Put the iPhone in Apple's supervised mode, then install a locked profile that removes the addictive feed apps and their websites. Camera, maps, bank and messages stay. Our Mac app does this for free in about one afternoon.
What people mean by a dumbphone
A dumbphone is a phone that calls and texts, and does little else. The Light Phone and old flip phones are examples.
Most people who want one do not want fewer tools. They want fewer feeds. They pick up the phone to check the weather, and 40 minutes later they are still on TikTok.
Five ways to do it, compared
| Way | Cost | What you lose | How easy to undo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy a Light Phone or flip phone | The price of a new phone | Bank app, good camera, most messaging apps | Very easy. Your iPhone is still in a drawer |
| Minimalist launcher or grayscale | Free, or a small fee for a dumb phone app | Nothing | Very easy. A few taps |
| Screen Time limits | Free, built in | Nothing | Very easy. One tap, or a passcode you know |
| App blockers (Opal, one sec, Brick) | A yearly fee for most, a device you buy once for Brick | Nothing, when the block is off | Easy to medium. You control the blocker |
| Supervised iPhone with a locked profile | Free | Only the apps and sites you choose | Hard. Not possible on the iPhone itself |
Buy a Light Phone or a flip phone
This works if you can live without a smartphone. Many people cannot, because banks and airlines often need an app. Then you carry two phones.
Minimalist launcher or grayscale
A dumb phone app for iPhone replaces your home screen icons with a plain list of text. Grayscale removes color: go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters, turn it on, and choose Grayscale. Apple also has Assistive Access, a simple mode with a few large apps.
These make the phone less attractive, but they remove nothing. Instagram is still one search away.
Screen Time limits
Screen Time is built in. Try it first.
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
- Tap Time Allowances (called App Limits before iOS 27). Before iOS 27, tap Add Limit next.
- Pick a category, such as social apps, and set the time for each day.
- Set a Screen Time passcode, so a limit cannot be changed without it.
- To block built-in features or content, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
This is enough if you only need a reminder. It is weak if you need a lock. A limit has an Ignore Limit button, and limits are easy to switch off. Apple lets you reset the Screen Time passcode with your Apple Account, and you know that password. More in why Screen Time does not work.
App blockers: Opal, one sec, Brick
Opal blocks apps on a schedule. one sec makes you wait a moment before an app opens. Brick is a small object: you tap your phone on it to block apps, and tap again to unblock, so you can leave it at home.
These are good tools, and they help many people. The limit is the same for all: you can still unblock. You can change the rules, use an emergency unlock, or walk to the Brick.
Supervise the iPhone with a locked profile
Supervision is a mode Apple built for iPhones that schools and companies own. A supervised iPhone accepts rules a normal iPhone refuses. A profile can hide chosen apps, block chosen websites, and be locked so nobody can remove it in Settings.
There is no button to ignore it, and no way to remove it on the iPhone itself. The way out is to erase the iPhone, or to use a Mac with Apple Configurator. Both take too long to do at 1 a.m.
How to turn your iPhone into a dumbphone with supervision
With the free Mac app
You need a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later, a cable, and about one afternoon. The app is free, with no account and no subscription. You can support the work if you want, but you never have to.
- Download the app from attentionawareness.com and open it.
- Plug in the iPhone with a cable.
- Back up your iPhone first, with Finder or iCloud. Then let the app supervise the iPhone. It makes a fresh backup, changes one setting in it, and restores it. Photos, messages and apps stay.
- Pick the apps and websites to block.
- Choose trial mode first. A trial profile can be removed in Settings, so you can test your list.
- When the list feels right, plug in once more and make it permanent.
Manually via Apple Configurator
The manual guide does the same with Apple's own free tool. But Apple Configurator erases the iPhone first. Only what syncs to iCloud comes back.
- Back up the iPhone.
- Install Apple Configurator from the Mac App Store.
- Erase the iPhone: Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.
- In Configurator, right-click the iPhone and choose Prepare. Choose Manual Configuration and tick "Supervise devices".
- Set up the iPhone as new. Do not restore the old backup. It turns supervision off again.
- Build a profile in the profile builder.
- Add the profile to the iPhone in Configurator.
Which apps to block first, and what to keep
Block the apps with an endless feed first: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, Reddit, Facebook and Snapchat. Block their websites too. If you only hide the app, you will open the site in Safari.
Keep what does a job and then ends: Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, Camera, Photos, Maps, your bank, your calendar, music, notes. The App Store stays on, so these apps still update.
Start small. You can add blocks later, but with a locked profile you cannot take one away.
My own numbers
I am Mert. I built this, and I use it on my own iPhone. My screen time was more than 5 hours a day. It is now 1 hour 45 minutes a day on average, with 72 pickups a day.
On my computer, our free browser extension hides the addictive feeds on X, YouTube and Instagram and keeps the accounts.
The idea is not mine. I started from Stepan Parunashvili's post "iPhone dumbphone". He supervised his own iPhone with Apple Configurator and cut his use from about 4 hours a day to about 2.
What this cannot do
- It does not work on Android or from Windows. It is iPhone only today, from a Mac.
- It does not block everything. It blocks only the apps and sites on your list.
- The adult website filter is Apple's own filter. It works in Safari and in apps that use the system web view. It does not catch every site.
- It is not a medical treatment. If your phone use comes with deeper distress, please talk to a professional.
How to undo it
In trial mode, remove the profile in Settings.
With a locked profile, there is nothing to tap on the iPhone. Erase it: Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. Then set it up as new, or restore a backup from before supervision. A Mac with Apple Configurator can also remove the profile.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a dumb phone mode on iPhone?
No. Apple has no setting with that name. The closest built-in options are Screen Time limits, grayscale and Assistive Access. A supervised iPhone with a locked profile is the only one of these you cannot switch off in Settings.
Will I lose my photos and messages?
The Mac app does not erase the iPhone. It backs up the iPhone, changes one setting in the backup, and restores it. Back up first anyway, in case something goes wrong. If you do it manually via Apple Configurator, the iPhone is erased and only what syncs to iCloud comes back.
Do I need a dumb phone app on the iPhone?
No. No app is installed on the iPhone, only a profile that blocks what you chose. The Mac app sets it up over a cable, and after that the iPhone does not need the Mac.
Can someone see or control my phone after this?
No. Supervision here does not connect the phone to any server. The profile is a fixed file with your block list.
Start with a trial
Download the free Mac app and run it in trial mode this weekend. If you would rather use only Apple's tools, follow the manual guide.