A Fella routine locks the news apps you choose at the same time every night and holds until morning, so the decision to stop happens once, when you set it up, instead of every night in bed.
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News apps are built around a constant refresh, and "just one more headline" right before sleep tends to open a dozen more. There's rarely a natural stopping point in a feed designed to always have something new, which is exactly the kind of thing a routine handles better than willpower at midnight.
Select the news apps that keep you up and set the start time to whenever you actually want to be off them, and the end time to whenever you get up. The routine begins the session on its own, so there is nothing to open once you're already in bed.
Everything else on your phone stays untouched, including messaging, your alarm, and anything else you might reach for at night.
Blocking a news app does not touch Government Alerts or Emergency Alerts. iOS delivers those at the system level, separate from any app, so a genuine emergency notification still reaches you overnight even while the app itself is locked.
Leave Phone, Messages, and your alarm off the blocked list entirely, so those keep working exactly as normal. For the one time something genuinely needs checking, each session includes a single 5-minute emergency unlock, then the selected apps lock again automatically.
For blocking news apps all day, not just at night, see our block news apps on iPhone guide. If other apps are part of the same bedtime pattern, see block apps while sleeping, or stop scrolling at night for the behavior side of why this happens.
Everything you need to stay focused, right from Home.
Yes. A routine starts a blocking session on the days and times you choose, so a nightly block begins on its own once set up, rather than needing to be turned on each evening.
No. A nightly news block uses the same routine and session mechanism as any other Fella block, just scoped to the apps you choose and applied to bedtime hours.
No. iOS delivers Government Alerts and Emergency Alerts at the system level, separately from any app, so those still come through even while a news app is blocked.
No, as long as you do not add those apps to the block. Fella blocks only the apps you select, so leaving Clock, Phone, and Messages unselected keeps alarms and calls working normally.
Each session includes one 5-minute emergency unlock. Use it if something genuinely needs attention, and the selected apps lock again automatically once the five minutes end.
