Deleting the app isn't the end of the loop
Removing Instagram, TikTok, X or Reddit from your home screen works until the first idle moment, when the website is one search away in Safari. Intent Guard closes that gap without locking you out of the sites completely.
Site by site
- Instagram and TikTok: protect the whole site with a Gentle Pause or Math Check.
- X: protect x.com (and twitter.com if you still use the old address).
- Reddit: protect the front page or specific subreddits by path, and keep the rest of Reddit reachable.
- YouTube: put Shorts behind a wall and leave regular videos open.
How it works
- Add a Site Target. Type a domain such as youtube.com or reddit.com, or narrow it to a path like youtube.com/shorts.
- Choose an intent wall. Pick how much friction stands between you and the site, and how long access lasts once you choose to go in: anywhere from 1 to 60 minutes.
- Turn on the Safari extension. Enable Intent Guard in Safari and allow it on your target sites. The app walks you through each switch.
- See the wall once. Open the site in Safari. When the wall appears, protection is live; until then, Intent Guard won't pretend it is.
Intent walls you can choose
- Gentle Pause: a short, calm pause before the page opens, enough to ask whether you meant to come here.
- Math Check: solve a quick problem to continue. It breaks autopilot without needing a code.
- Passcode: entry needs a code, useful when you want a firmer line or someone else keeps the code.
- Focus Hours: stricter protection on a timer or a schedule. Temporary unlocks never override Focus Hours.
When you do enter, the unlock covers that whole site for the time you chose, then the wall comes back on its own. You can revoke an unlock early.
Private by design
Intent Guard works without an account and keeps your targets and activity on your own devices. You decide whether it tracks anything at all: protection works with tracking off, you can keep only an anonymous total for Private Browsing, or you can see time per site. It never needs a VPN or to route your traffic anywhere.
Questions
- Does it block the native apps too?
- No. Intent Guard protects websites in Safari. It's built for people who have already deleted the app and find themselves opening the website instead. For native apps, use Screen Time app limits alongside it.
- What if I actually need the site?
- Go through the wall. That's the point: access stays available, it just stops being automatic. The unlock lasts as long as you chose, then the wall returns.
- Does it work on Mac?
- Yes. Intent Guard has iPhone and Mac apps, each with its own Safari extension.