Dumb Phone Prescription

Galaxy, how to limit TikTok

Galaxy (One UI 7) / OS version One UI 7 (Android 15) / Checked on 2026-09-15

The next video is already playing, so there is no gap to stop in. Set a daily budget and take the icon off the home screen.

This app cannot block other apps. What it can do is show you the shortest way to turn the phone you already own into a dumb phone, using settings it already has.

Taken from the maker's own support documents. We have not held these handsets ourselves, so if a menu name differs, search for the word below.

  1. 1. Open Digital Wellbeing

    Settings > Digital Wellbeing and parental controls

    Everything below lives on this one screen, so finding it once is most of the work.

    Type this into the Settings search box: Digital Wellbeing

    Checked on 2026-09-15 / OS version One UI 7 (Android 15) / Source Google, Android Help, manage how you spend time on your phone (from the official document)

  2. 2. Put an app timer on TikTok

    Digital Wellbeing and parental controls > Dashboard > TikTok > Timer

    When the budget runs out the icon greys out and the app stops opening. Nothing is deleted.

    Type this into the Settings search box: App timer

    Checked on 2026-09-15 / OS version One UI 7 (Android 15) / Source Google, Android Help, manage how you spend time on your phone (from the official document)

  3. 3. Turn the screen black and white

    Turn on greyscale inside Bedtime mode. For all day, Settings > Accessibility > Visibility enhancements > Colour adjustment

    Without colour, thumbnails stop pulling at your eye. It is the quickest change here and the easiest to undo.

    Type this into the Settings search box: Greyscale

    Checked on 2026-09-15 / OS version One UI 7 (Android 15) / Source Google, Android Accessibility Help, adjust display colors (from the official document)

  4. 4. Take the icon off the home screen

    Press and hold the icon, then Remove from Home. The app itself stays in the apps screen

    It empties the spot your thumb remembers. Opening it now needs a search, and that pause is the point.

    Type this into the Settings search box: Edit home screen

    Checked on 2026-09-15 / OS version One UI 7 (Android 15) / Source Samsung, Samsung mobile device support (from the official document)

  5. 5. Set up focus mode

    Digital Wellbeing and parental controls > Focus mode > pick a mode and choose allowed apps

    A timer covers the day, focus mode covers the next hour. While it runs the chosen apps will not open.

    Type this into the Settings search box: Focus mode

    Checked on 2026-09-15 / OS version One UI 7 (Android 15) / Source Google, Android Help, manage how you spend time on your phone (from the official document)

Every change here can be undone in the same place. That means it is not enforcement, and we are not hiding that.

Other troubles on this phone

Dumb phone comparison

If the settings are not enough, the next step is a different handset. Here is what each one costs you.