minulo can lock just the official Instagram app with Screen Time, up to 2 hours per block for free, while WhatsApp stays open, and if you open Instagram inside minulo, Reels are hidden and your DMs stay. I'm the developer of minulo.
Apple's steps and the other options side by side: How to block only Instagram during Downtime and keep WhatsApp
A common case: you set Downtime for 11:30 pm so you stop scrolling Reels in bed, and the next morning you find you missed a message in the family WhatsApp group. Downtime had stopped WhatsApp too.
Why Downtime stops your chat app
Apple's guide says that during downtime, only calls, messages and apps you choose to allow are available. WhatsApp is an app like any other, so unless you allow it, it goes dark with Instagram.
Keep WhatsApp, stop Instagram (iOS 26)
- Open Settings › Screen Time › Always Allowed.
- Under Choose Apps, add WhatsApp and anything else you need at night.
- Check that Instagram isn't in Allowed Apps.
- Go back to Downtime, turn on Scheduled and set the times.
- Turn on Block at Downtime. Apple says you need a Screen Time passcode for this.
Without Block at Downtime you only get a reminder, and Instagram keeps opening. On iOS 27, Apple's guide describes Screen Time Schedules instead, which work by category. Adding WhatsApp to Always Allowed is the safe way there too.
Doing it with minulo
- In minulo, tap Add a service, choose Instagram and sign in on Instagram's own page.
- Tap the gear and turn on Every tab but DMs. Only DMs and the notifications tab stay. This is free.
- On the Block tab, pick only the official Instagram app. One lock lasts up to 2 hours for free.
- With minulo Pro, a schedule starts the lock every night on its own (Sleep mode).
One catch: while minulo is locking the official Instagram app, its notifications don't arrive, so you check DMs inside minulo. WhatsApp isn't touched either way.
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