Short answer: Not honestly, no. Anything installed on a phone you own and control can, in the end, be undone by the person who owns it, so in our view any product that promises otherwise is promising too much. What you can do is put friction between the urge and the off switch: a delay, a code that another person holds, and protection against uninstalling. This guide explains which of those layers exist, what the official pages say about them, and why we think that is the right goal.
Version note: iPhone details match Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 26 (with the iOS 27 passcode route noted), and Android details match Google's and Android Developers' pages, all read on 21 Oct 2026. Menus change between versions, so if a label differs on your phone, use the search box in Settings.
A phone does what its owner tells it to. The Settings app can disconnect a VPN, remove an app or reset a code. Android's developer documentation says a person using the device can stop a VPN service from the VPN screen of the Settings app, by disconnecting or forgetting the VPN app or by switching off always-on VPN. Apple's Screen Time lock works the same way in principle: Apple says a Screen Time passcode must be entered before you can change the settings it protects, so whoever knows the passcode can change them.
So the useful question is not "can it be turned off?" but "how much time, effort and other people stand between the urge and the off switch?" The idea behind the rest of this guide is to add a pause, not a wall. For what to do about urges themselves, see our practical plan: https://mamoriblocker.com/guides/how-to-stop-watching-porn/
Here are five layers that can make a block harder to undo. Each adds time, effort or another person between you and the off switch.
Apple's Screen Time lets you set a passcode so that Content & Privacy Restrictions cannot be changed without it. The steps for yourself are: open Settings, tap Screen Time, scroll down, tap Lock Screen Time Settings, and enter a four-digit passcode twice. On iOS 27, Apple's route is Settings > Screen Time > Manage Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings. To remove the passcode, Apple says to tap Change Screen Time Passcode, select Turn Off Screen Time Passcode, then enter your current passcode.
The catch Apple documents itself: after setting a passcode for yourself, you can set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery, and if you do, "you can use your Apple Account to reset your Screen Time passcode if you ever forget it." Apple recommends adding recovery so a forgotten code can be reset. If the aim is for someone else to be the gatekeeper, a common approach is to skip recovery and have a trusted person type the code in without you watching. Our iPhone guide has the full steps: https://mamoriblocker.com/guides/block-porn-on-iphone/
A blocker is easy to remove if the phone lets you delete it freely. Apple says that under Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, iTunes & App Store Purchases lets you "choose restrictions for installing or deleting apps and in-app purchases." That is a way to stop yourself installing a workaround or deleting an app, while the passcode is held by someone else.
On Android, one route an app can use is the Device Administration API. Android's documentation says: "To uninstall an existing device admin app, users need to first unregister the app as an administrator." That adds a step, though it is a step a determined owner can take.
Family Link lets a parent block an app: in the Family Link app, select your child, then tap Screen time, Time limits, App limits, select the app and use the toggle to change it from Allowed to Blocked. Google also notes that Incognito mode is turned off when a child is signed in to Chrome with a Family Link account, and that the Chrome filter options include Try to block explicit sites. Google says "No filter is perfect". On an iPhone or iPad, Family Sharing lets an adult manage a child's Screen Time and passcode. These controls rely on a second person who is not the child, which in our view is why they suit families better than an adult setting rules for themselves.
Apple describes supervision as something that "generally denotes that the device is owned by the organization, which provides additional control over its configuration and restrictions." Apple also says supervising an iPhone manually needs a Mac running Apple Configurator, physical possession of the device, and that "the device is erased and all data is lost." In our view that is a heavy step for a personal phone.
A delay changes what happens in the moment. A cooldown timer, a random phrase to type, a PIN, a passphrase held by another person: each is meant to make the decision slower and more deliberate. In our view, Screen Time and Family Link suit setups where the person setting the rules and the person following them are different people, such as a parent and a child, and the pages we read do not describe a cooldown timer. For how the main kinds of blocker compare on this, see: https://mamoriblocker.com/guides/porn-blockers-compared/
Can a parent make a porn blocker impossible for a child to disable?
Not completely. Google's Family Link page says "No filter is perfect", and that on iPhone, iPad and computers a child may have other browsers where the Chrome settings won't apply. Layering Family Link or Screen Time with a code the child does not know is a common base.
If I hand the passcode to a friend, can I still get it back?
Yes, because they can give it to you. That is the point: the pause before you ask is the friction. If you set up Apple's Screen Time Passcode Recovery, you can also reset the passcode with your own Apple Account, which removes the friction.
Does a factory reset or a new phone undo everything?
We did not find an official page that describes this, so we cannot state what each product does. In general, a determined owner can change a device they own. That is why the delay and the person holding the code matter.
Mamori is a newer app for iPhone, iPad and Android, built for adults blocking for themselves. It does not claim it cannot be turned off. It adds some of the layers above in one place: locks that have to be passed before you switch it off (a cooldown timer, a random phrase, or a PIN or passphrase that a trusted person can hold), an optional emergency unlock, and uninstall protection while protection is on (Android device admin; on iPhone through Screen Time restrictions). On Android it re-arms after a restart.
"Protection off means off" is a deliberate choice. When protection is off, everything is off and Mamori can be uninstalled normally. The friction is the lock you chose before switching it off, not a trap. In our view that is the honest design: a blocker that you could not remove from your own phone would be taking a decision that should stay yours.
Honest limits: Android allows only one VPN at a time, so another VPN or blocker that takes the slot switches Mamori's filter off. No blocker replaces support from people or a professional, and Mamori has no accountability reports. For a child's device, use Screen Time or Family Link as the base layer.
There is a 7-day free trial on the monthly and annual plans, plus a one-time lifetime option. No account, no tracking.
Last checked 21 Oct 2026. This guide is general information, not medical advice.