Semo

How to block X (Twitter) on iPhone

Semo is an iPhone app that blocks distracting apps by asking an AI question that quotes your own reason back to you. This page is only about X (Twitter).

How do you block X (Twitter) on an iPhone?

It depends on what you mean by a block. Screen Time can limit X (Twitter), and you can ignore that limit if you know the passcode or never set one. Semo asks an AI question that quotes your own reason, and you can dismiss it. The steps on this page are Apple's. Semo is not on the App Store yet. Price shown in the app.

Last checked against Apple's Screen Time guides and the public descriptions named on the page. We review these notes at least every 90 days.

Published . Updated . We review facts on this page at least every 90 days (next review due by 29 January 2027).

Block X (Twitter) with iPhone Screen Time

The app is named X. Older write-ups still say Twitter. In Screen Time you should find X, not Twitter, unless an old build is still installed. It is a social app. The Following timeline and the For You timeline are the same icon. x.com in Safari is outside an iOS 26 App Limit on that icon.

iOS 26

  1. Search the limit list for X Settings, Screen Time, App Limits, Add Limit, then open Social. Tick X. If you only look for Twitter you may think it is not installed.
  2. Do not put every social app on X's timer Select X alone if the other social apps are ones you still use for messages. Set the time with Next. Customize Days if you want it off on workdays.
  3. Check Always Allowed and the website Remove X from Always Allowed if it is there. Remember that x.com in Safari is not this limit on iOS 26.

iOS 27

  1. X shares Social Media with the apps next to it Time Allowances apply by category. Set Social Media, then use Manage Categories if X should not share a pool with apps you use differently.
  2. A linked x.com would count; a bookmark in Safari might not iOS 27 counts a website the developer linked. A random browser session is still Safari. Read the category detail before you assume the site is included.

Apple's steps: App Limits on iOS 26 and Time Allowances on iOS 27. A limit you set for yourself can be ignored if you know the Screen Time passcode, or if you never set one.

What X (Twitter)'s own limits do, and why they fail

X does not document a switch that closes the app when a daily total is reached. Mute, block, lists and "not interested" change the timeline. They leave the app one tap away. Notification settings decide whether a post pulls you back in. The For You feed and a single reply you meant to send are the same app, so Screen Time cannot allow the reply and refuse the feed.

An example reason

Written for this page. Not a quote from a user.

I open X to answer one person, and the For You timeline is what I actually read.

How Semo helps with X (Twitter)

Store the reason as that split. Semo blocks X by asking an AI question that quotes it. The question does not know which timeline is on screen. You do. We have not published a result for X, or for any other app.

Questions

I can't find Twitter in Screen Time. Did the limit fail?

Look for X. The icon and the name changed. An old shortcut or a website bookmark can still say Twitter.

Does turning off X notifications count as a block?

No. It removes one pull. The app still opens, and the timeline is still there when it does.

Will an X limit block x.com?

On iOS 26, no. On iOS 27, only if that site is linked to the app in the allowance. Otherwise use the Safari guide.