How to Block Prime Video on iPhone
A Screen Time App Limit blocks the app icon, but Prime Video also plays at primevideo.com and inside amazon.com/gp/video, and autoplay keeps episodes going.
Blocking Prime Video on iPhone means setting a Screen Time App Limit under the Entertainment category — Apple's general-purpose tool, since there's no Prime Video-specific control. It stops the app icon on this iPhone once the time runs out, and nothing else: not a Fire TV Stick, not Prime Video built into a smart TV, and not the same Amazon account open in a browser. Screen Time enforces the block, not Prime Video and not any other device signed into the account.
How do you set a Screen Time limit on Prime Video?
- Open Settings → Screen Time → App Limits.
- Tap Add Limit, then choose Entertainment (the category Prime Video falls under) or search for Prime Video directly and select just that app.
- Set a time allowance, including 0 minutes if the goal is a full block rather than a cap.
- Choose the days it applies.
- Tap Add.
Set a Screen Time passcode under Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings, separate from your device passcode, if you haven't already — without one, the limit can be removed the moment it's inconvenient. Menu wording shifts slightly between iOS versions, but the App Limits path has stayed consistent for years.
Why does the Prime Video limit stop working after a few days?
When the limit is reached, iOS shows an Ignore Limit button offering one more minute, 15 more minutes, or the rest of the day. Tap it, enter the passcode if one is set, and Prime Video reopens for that window. At midnight, every App Limit resets to zero regardless of how much of yesterday's allowance survived.
Prime Video complicates this in one specific way: it's bundled inside an Amazon Prime membership someone is already paying for whether or not they watch, so Ignore Limit doesn't carry the "am I spending more" hesitation a standalone subscription might. There's no separate bill to feel bad about reopening — just a button and a passcode.
Does blocking the Prime Video app also block primevideo.com and amazon.com/gp/video?
No, and Prime Video has an unusual wrinkle here: it's reachable from two different addresses. primevideo.com is the standalone site with its own full player, and separately, Prime Video streams from inside Amazon's main storefront at amazon.com/gp/video — so blocking amazon.com for shopping doesn't necessarily block the video section living on that same domain. An App Limit recognizes neither; it only sees the app icon.
To close both, go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Content Restrictions → Web Content, choose Limit Adult Websites, and add primevideo.com and amazon.com/gp/video as two separate entries to the "Never Allow" list. This only covers Safari on this device; it has no effect on a Fire TV Stick, a smart TV's built-in app, or a console signed into the same account.
Does blocking Prime Video also block Amazon Shopping?
No. Amazon Shopping is a separate app, tied to the same Amazon account but with its own icon and its own listing under Screen Time. Blocking Prime Video doesn't touch checkout, order tracking, or one-tap buying in Amazon Shopping, and the reverse is also true — see the guide on blocking Amazon on iPhone for the domains that matter there instead. If the goal is cutting evening viewing, an App Limit on Prime Video alone covers it; if spending in Amazon Shopping is a separate concern, it needs its own limit.
What makes Prime Video specifically hard to stop opening?
The pull isn't one single mechanic — it's two smaller ones stacked together. Autoplay moves straight into the next episode without asking, the same default-to-continue pattern most streaming apps use. On top of that, Prime Video's catalog turns over on roughly a monthly cycle: licensed movies rotate out, Amazon Original series drop new seasons on a schedule, and the home screen looks different enough between visits that even a habitual opener usually finds something that reads as "new." A finished show gives little reason to reopen an app; a catalog that visibly changes every few weeks does.
What's the most realistic way to actually block Prime Video?
| Approach | What it does | Honest verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Time App Limit on Prime Video | Blocks the app icon on this iPhone after the set time | Doesn't touch a Fire TV Stick, a smart TV's built-in app, or the browser; easy to override with Ignore Limit |
| Downtime schedule | Blocks Prime Video (and most apps) during set hours | Good for "no Prime Video after 10pm" on this phone; still a single-device fix |
| Deleting the app | Removes the icon and app from this iPhone | primevideo.com and amazon.com/gp/video still play in Safari, and reinstalling takes seconds |
| Blocking primevideo.com and amazon.com/gp/video in Content Restrictions | Closes the Safari gap on this device | Necessary alongside an App Limit, not a substitute for it, and phone-only either way |
| Conditional unlock (e.g., Step N Scroll) | Keeps Prime Video locked on the iPhone until a daily step goal, set via Apple Health, is met | Adds a real cost to unlocking beyond a passcode tap; doesn't suit people who want a fully free tool, can't walk much, use Android — there's no Android version — or watch mostly through a Fire TV Stick or a smart TV |
For a video app with a very different pull, see blocking Netflix on iPhone, or check the full list of app guides for other categories. For the specific case of Prime Video eating into bedtime, how to stop scrolling in bed covers the wider pattern of late-night screen habits beyond this one app.
What can't a Screen Time block fix about Prime Video?
No setting here makes Prime Video impossible to reach — Content & Privacy Restrictions can be changed, the blocking app deleted, and Screen Time settings reset by anyone who knows the passcode. None of it touches a Fire TV Stick, a smart TV's built-in app, or any other device on the same account, which for a lot of households is where most evening viewing actually happens.
The evidence that blocking tools change long-term viewing habits is thin and mostly observational — what exists says more about short-term drops in opening the app than a lasting shift in why someone reaches for it at 10pm. If Prime Video is mainly a bedtime habit, that's worth naming directly: a phone setting is a reasonable aid, not a fix for the pattern underneath it.
FAQ
If I block Prime Video on my iPhone, does it also stop working on a Fire TV Stick or a smart TV?
No. A Screen Time App Limit only applies to the device it's set on. Prime Video built into a Fire TV Stick, a smart TV, a game console, or a laptop browser is completely untouched, and for a lot of households the TV is where most Prime Video time actually happens.
Will Prime Video still work in Safari if I set an App Limit?
Yes, unless you separately restrict it. primevideo.com and amazon.com/gp/video both serve a full player in Safari, and an App Limit only recognizes the app icon, not either website.
What happens when I tap "Ignore Limit" on Prime Video?
iOS unlocks Prime Video for one more minute, 15 more minutes, or the rest of the day, depending on what you choose. If a Screen Time passcode is set, it asks for that code first, which is the main thing that makes the button harder to tap on autopilot.
Does blocking Prime Video also block Amazon Shopping?
No. Amazon Shopping is a separate app tied to the same Amazon account, with its own icon and its own App Limit if you want one. Blocking Prime Video has no effect on checkout or order tracking in Amazon Shopping, and blocking Amazon Shopping has no effect on Prime Video.
Does deleting the Prime Video app delete my watchlist or Amazon account?
No. Deleting the app only removes it from your phone. Your watchlist, viewing history, and account are stored on Amazon's servers tied to your account, and reappear as soon as you reinstall and sign back in.
Can an app like Step N Scroll see what I'm watching on Prime Video?
No. Apple's Family Controls framework gives third-party apps opaque tokens representing blocked apps, not the app's identity or any activity inside it. Developers in this category cannot see that you're blocking Prime Video specifically, let alone what you watched.
Sources
- Apple Support — "Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone"
- Apple Support — "Set content and privacy restrictions on iPhone"
- Nielsen — "The Gauge: Streaming, Broadcast and Cable Viewing Share"
- Sleep Foundation — "Screens and Sleep: The Impact of Nighttime Use"
Step N Scroll is a habit and screen-time tool, not a medical device. Nothing here is medical advice.