How To Block An App From Being Downloaded On Iphone

Home screen delete app prompt iPhone screenshot 001

With iOS's built-in Restrictions control, parents can impose limits on what their kids can do with their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. It's also a great place to restrict certain features on your own device.

For instance, after setting up my nephew's iPad with his favorite apps I then disabled the ability for him to delete or download them from the App Store.

Our tutorial will teach you how you to do just that on your own iOS device in order to prevent accidental app deletions and stop your kids, or other people using your device, from downloading apps.

How to prevent iOS apps from being installed and deleted

1) Go to Settings → General → Restrictions on your device and type your restrictions passcode.

enter passcode enable restrictions

If you haven't used Restrictions before, tap Enable Restrictions at the top and create a restrictions passcode that you'll need to adjust these settings in the future. It's wise to pick a restrictions passcode that's different from the passcode for unlocking your iOS device.

You should now see what's allowed on your device.

2) To prevent apps from the App Store to be installed on this device, slide the Installing Apps underneath the Allow section to the OFF position.

3) To prevent apps from being deleted on this device, slide the Deleting Apps below the Allow headline to the OFF position.

Disable Install and Delete Apps on iPhone

Disabling the ability to delete apps from the device removes the "X" from Home screen icons in jiggle mode. Additionally, the Delete App button disappears from individual apps under theSettings → General → Storage & iCloud Usage section.

Can't delete apps

Disabling app installations removes the App Store icon from the Home screens and Spotlight Search.

RELATED: How to disable In-App Purchase mechanism

Restrictions tips and tricks

iOS's Restrictions feature makes it simple to prevent certain features on your device from being used or exposed to the user. If you're a parent or just need to restrict some features on an iOS device, you can use Restrictions to:

Stop your kids from sharing their location
Prevent deleting apps on your device
Disable In-App Purchases
Set content restrictions
Prevent explicit music from appearing in playlists
Block certain websites
Filter mature language for Siri and Dictation
Disable sharing of photos and videos to specific apps
Disallow changes to the volume limit
Prohibit the use of FaceTime

That's just a fraction of the possibilities offered by iOS's built-in Restrictions controls.

Need help? Ask iDB!

Not sure how to do certain things on your Apple device?

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