How to Do a Phone Fast as a Christian

The short version: A Christian phone fast is a set period when you give up your phone, or the apps that take most of your attention, and give the time to prayer, Scripture, rest and the people around you. Decide three things before you start: how long (one day a week, a week, or the 40 days of Lent), what you are giving up (usually social media, video and news feeds, and games, while calls and messages stay on), and what will fill the gap. Then remove the apps or block them on a schedule, so the decision holds on the days you feel weak. Most people find the first three days the hardest.

It is the first quiet minute of the morning. The coffee is still too hot to drink. The Bible is on the table, and the phone is next to it, and somehow it is the phone that gets opened first, and twenty minutes later the coffee is cold and the Bible is still closed.

We know that table well. Most of us at Unglue have sat at it, some of us this week. So this is a practical guide from people who find it hard too. It respects that fasting means different things in different churches, and it leaves the theology to your pastor, priest or your own reading.

What a phone fast is

Fasting in the Christian tradition usually means going without food, or some food, for a time, so that the hunger turns you back toward God. A phone fast borrows that shape. You go without something you reach for many times a day, and you notice the reaching.

Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness before his ministry began (Matthew 4:1 to 2). In Matthew 6:16 to 18 he speaks about fasting as something his followers will do, and asks them to do it quietly, for God, without making a show of it. That passage is worth reading before you post a "going offline for Lent" announcement. A short message to the people who need to know is enough.

Paul gives a line many people find useful here: "'I have the right to do anything,' you say, but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything,' but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12, NIV, punctuation lightly simplified). A phone fast is a way of checking which of those your phone is right now.

Fasting from food has its own rules in many churches, and a phone fast does not replace them. Many Christians add a phone fast alongside their usual practice, or choose it when fasting from food is not wise for health reasons.

Why so many Christians try one

The phone is very good at filling silence, and silence is where a lot of prayer happens. Mark 1:35 describes Jesus getting up "very early in the morning, while it was still dark," and going "off to a solitary place, where he prayed." For most of us, the early morning is when the phone gets checked first.

Pope Francis made the comparison directly. In his Angelus address on the first Sunday of Lent in 2017, he asked what would happen "were we to treat the Bible as we treat our mobile phone": carrying it everywhere, going back for it when we forget it, opening it several times a day. He called the comparison "paradoxical" and said it "calls for reflection." You do not need to be Catholic to feel the point.

There is also some research on what happens when people step back. In a 2025 randomized trial published in PNAS Nexus, Noah Castelo and colleagues asked 467 adults to block mobile internet on their phones for two weeks, while keeping calls and texts. On average, the group reported better wellbeing and mental health, and did better on a test of sustained attention. About 91% improved on at least one of those measures. The researchers found that people spent more time with others in person, exercising and outdoors, which helped explain the gains. A study can only measure so much, and it did not look at prayer. It does suggest that the time you get back tends to go somewhere good.

How to plan your phone fast

1. Choose the length

Pick something you can keep. A fast you finish teaches you more than an ambitious one you abandon on day four.

  • One day a week. Many Christians tie this to the Sabbath or the Lord's Day: no feeds from Saturday evening to Sunday evening, or for all of Sunday. It is a good place to start.
  • A week. Long enough to get through the restless first days and see what changes.
  • The 40 days of Lent. In 2027, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 10 February, and Easter Sunday falls on 28 March. Many traditions do not count Sundays in the 40 days, and some people relax their fast on Sundays for that reason. Ask your church what it usually does.
  • A season of your own. Advent, a retreat, the weeks before a big decision.

2. Decide what you are giving up

"My phone" is usually too broad. Most people need calls, messages, maps and a way to pay for parking. A phone fast tends to work best when it names the specific things that pull hardest:

  • Social media apps, like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.
  • Endless video, like YouTube and short-video feeds.
  • News feeds and news alerts, if you find yourself refreshing them.
  • Games you open without deciding to.
  • Shopping apps, if browsing has become a habit.

Write the list down. Then write down what stays: calls, messages to family, your Bible app if you use one, work tools during work hours. Being clear about the exceptions makes it easier to say no to everything else.

3. Decide what fills the time

The empty minutes are the point, and they are also where a fast usually breaks. Plan for them.

  • A fixed time for Scripture. Put a printed Bible, a reading plan or a devotional where the phone used to sit in the morning. Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God," is a good verse to start with.
  • Prayer at the moments you used to check. Waiting for the kettle, sitting in the car before going inside, lying in bed before sleep.
  • People. Call someone instead of scrolling past their photos. Eat a meal with the phone in another room.
  • Rest and service. A walk, a nap, a meal for a neighbour. Fasting has always been tied to giving, and the time you save is something you can give.

4. Tell the people who need to know

Let close family, a few friends and anyone at work who relies on you know how to reach you. Keep it short and private, in the spirit of Matthew 6. If you lead anything at church, tell the other leaders which channel still works.

5. Ask someone to keep it with you

Fasting alone is hard. Many people find it easier with a spouse, a friend, a small group or a whole congregation fasting together for Lent. Agree to check in once a week, and be honest with each other when it goes badly.

How to make the fast hold on your phone

Good intentions tend to give way at about 10 pm. It helps to make the phone itself keep the decision.

Delete or hide the apps. The simplest option. You can reinstall them when the fast ends. If an app keeps you logged in through the web browser, sign out there too.

Block them on a schedule with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27). Go to Settings > Screen Time > Screen Time Schedule, turn on Schedule, tap Add Schedule and choose the days. In each time window, leave out the Time Allowance categories you are fasting from, such as Social Media and Games. Contacts and apps in Always Allowed stay available, so family can still reach you. Apple explains the steps in its Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances guide.

On iOS 26 and earlier, the closest tool is Settings > Screen Time > Downtime, which you can set to a schedule, as described in Apple's iOS 26 guide. App Limits in the same menu can cap a single app.

On Android, go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing > Focus mode, choose the apps to pause and tap Set a schedule, as Google's Digital Wellbeing help page explains.

Our guide to blocking apps for certain hours covers each of these in more detail.

The weak spot of built-in tools is that the person who set them up can switch them off in a few taps. That is part of why we built Unglue. It keeps the apps you choose blocked until you earn minutes with something in real life, like a walk, a glass of water or time in a book, and it can block on a schedule so your fast days are covered without a fresh decision each morning. On iPhone it uses Apple's Screen Time framework. If you are fasting with someone, Selection Lock with a Buddy Code lets them hold the key: you can add apps to the blocked list freely, and removing them needs their code. We are aware that it is an app helping you use apps less.

What the first week usually feels like

Days one to three. You will reach for the phone without thinking, often many times an hour. Your thumb may open the space where the app used to be. This is the habit, and it says nothing about your faith. Each time it happens, you can turn the reach into a short prayer.

Days four to seven. The reaching slows. Boredom shows up instead, and boredom is often where people notice what they have been avoiding. Some find this uncomfortable. It can also be the most honest part of the fast.

After the first week. Many people describe more patience, longer prayer and better evenings. Some notice they miss very little. Others realise they miss real friends and want to keep in touch with them in another way. Both are useful to know.

If you slip, pick it up again the next day. A broken fast is a reason to start again, and Lent has always been a season for that.

Ending the fast

Plan the end before you begin, so Easter Sunday does not turn into a seven-hour catch-up on everything you missed.

  • Bring back one app at a time, and only the ones you missed.
  • Keep one thing from the fast. A phone-free morning, a Sabbath without feeds, or the phone charging outside the bedroom at night. Our guide on how to stop scrolling at night can help with that last one.
  • Look back. Write down what changed, what you missed and what you did not. It will help you next year.

If the fast showed you that the phone has a stronger hold than you expected, our guide on why you can't stop scrolling explains how feeds are built to keep you there, and how to reduce screen time as an adult has a longer plan for the rest of the year. If you want to make it a resolution for the new year, see our guide to a New Year's resolution to use less social media.

If you find you feel low, anxious or unable to stop most days, the phone may be carrying more than a habit. Talking with your pastor, someone you trust or a doctor can help.

Common questions

What is a phone fast?

A phone fast is a set period when you give up your phone, or certain apps, so you can give the time and attention to something else. For Christians that usually means prayer, Scripture, rest and other people. Most phone fasts keep calls and messages and cut social media, video feeds, news and games.

Is phone fasting biblical?

The Bible does not mention phones, but it says a lot about fasting and about not being mastered by anything. Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4) and taught about fasting quietly (Matthew 6:16 to 18). Many Christians see a phone fast as a modern way to practise that same discipline. Your church may have its own view, so ask your pastor or priest.

How long should a Christian phone fast be?

There is no fixed length. One day a week, often the Sabbath or Sunday, is a good start. A week is long enough to get past the hardest first days. Many people keep a phone fast for the 40 days of Lent, which in 2027 runs from Ash Wednesday, 10 February, to Easter Sunday, 28 March.

Can I use a Bible app during a phone fast?

Many people do. If the Bible app is fine but the phone keeps leading you to other apps, try a printed Bible for the length of the fast, or block every app except the Bible app, your calls and your messages.

How do I start fasting away from my phone?

Choose the length, list the apps you will give up and the ones that stay, and decide what you will do with the time. Then delete the apps or block them on a schedule, and ask someone to keep the fast with you. Start the first day with your phone in another room.

Should I do a phone fast for Lent?

If your phone takes time you would rather give to God and the people around you, Lent is a natural season for it. Many churches encourage giving something up, and a phone fast is one of the most common choices. Set up the blocks the weekend before Ash Wednesday so the first morning is easy.

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