Guide

Why does Safari still open when apps are paused?

Because iOS keeps Safari open: in our tests no rule locked Safari itself, so the websites inside it have to rest instead. In Lampworth 1.1, a category you time now rests its websites too, and "Only the apps I allow" locks every website except the ones you add.

What we saw

• On 11 October 2026, on an iPad with only the Social category timed and paused, instagram.com rested in Safari and bbc.co.uk opened.
• The same day, with "Only the apps I allow" and one website added, bbc.co.uk, that website opened. Another, wikipedia.org, showed iOS's "Website Not Allowed" page.

Before version 1.1, a timed category left its websites open in Safari. If you saw that, update Lampworth in the App Store.

Before you start

• Lampworth 1.1 or later on your child's iPhone or iPad, and your parent PIN.
• Decide which way suits you. The first rests one kind of website at set times. The second allows only a short list, all the time.

Way 1: a category rests its websites

Use this when the trouble is one kind of thing, such as social media, and the rest of the web can stay open.

1. Open the Apps screen. Open Lampworth, tap Parent and enter your PIN. Tap Edit on the Timed apps card. If nothing is chosen yet, tap Choose apps instead.
2. Check the way. Under Which apps can be used?, "All apps, except the ones I limit" should be ticked.
3. Tick the category. Tap Add or change apps, or Choose apps. Tick a category such as Social, then tap Save. It starts as Timed.
4. Turn on a time. On Home, switch on School, Homework or Bedtime, or set a daily limit.
5. Try it. Tap Pause now, open Safari and go to a website of that kind. It should rest. Tap Unpause when you are done.

A category covers its apps, apps of that kind installed later, and now its websites. Apple's list also shows some single websites you can tick.

Way 2: only the websites you add

Use this for a young child or a first iPad. Every app and every website is locked, except the ones you allow.

1. Open the Apps screen as in way 1, and tap "Only the apps I allow".
2. Step 1 of 3. Tap Choose apps, tick the apps your child may use, and tap Save. Then tap Next.
3. Step 2 of 3. Type a website's address, such as bbc.co.uk, and tap Add. Add each one you want, then tap Next. If you leave it empty, every website is locked.
4. Step 3 of 3, Check your list. Read it, then tap Try it for 15 minutes.
5. Check and keep it. In Safari, open a website you added and one you did not. If that is what you want, tap Keep it on. If nobody does, the rule switches itself off after 15 minutes.

The websites you add rest when the timed apps rest. In our test, Pause now locked bbc.co.uk, and Unpause opened it again. To add one later, open the Apps screen: the card Websites you added has the same field. Adding one asks for your PIN; removing one never does.

What it cannot do

• It does not judge what is on a page. A category rests a kind of website at set times, and the list allows only the addresses you add.
• We have tested Safari. We have not yet tested other browsers, or web pages opened inside other apps.
• The list in way 2 holds 20 websites.
• Time on the websites you add does not count towards the daily limit.
• Lampworth never sees which websites your child visits.

And Apple's own Screen Time?

Apple's Content & Privacy Restrictions can filter websites all day: Limit Adult Websites, or Only Approved Websites (Apple Support). In iOS 27, Apple's Time Allowances also cover the website an app declares (Apple Support). A filter and Lampworth's times do different jobs, and you can use both.

Next

Read which apps can't be blocked, or how to allow only certain apps on a child's first iPad.