This article addresses two ways to turn off Apple CarPlay in iOS 14, iOS 13, and iOS 12, either using a Settings option or through Content Restrictions.

What to Know

  • Apple CarPlay lets you sync your iPhone with compatible vehicles either via a wireless connection or using a cable.To turn off CarPlay go to Settings > General > CarPlay > tap the vehicle you want to forget and then tap Forget This Car > Forget.You can also disable CarPlay in Screen Time settings so it doesn’t turn on for any connected vehicle.

How to Turn Off CarPlay from Settings

You may want to turn off Apple CarPlay for a variety of reasons, including that maybe you just don’t want to use CarPlay. No matter the reason, you can turn CarPlay off from the Settings.

When you turn it off using these instructions, you can easily re-enable it by re-connecting CarPlay to your phone.

  • Go to Settings > General and then tap CarPlay.
  • On the CarPlay screen, tap the name of the vehicle you want to forget under the My Car options. If you connect to multiple vehicles, you may have more than one car listed here, and if you want to turn CarPlay off on all of them, you’ll need to repeat the steps for each vehicle.
  • Once you choose to forget a vehicle in your CarPlay app, you’ll have to go through the process of re-adding it to access it again in the future.
  • Tap Forget This Car.
  • Then in the confirmation message that appears, tap Forget again to confirm that you no longer want to use CarPlay with this vehicle. Once you tap Forget the vehicle will be removed from Apple CarPlay.

How to Completely Disable Apple CarPlay

If you don’t use CarPlay or you find it frustrating that it starts up every time you connect your phone to your car, you can completely disable it. Surprisingly, however, you’ll have to go through Screen Time to do it.

Go to Settings > General and then tap CarPlay.

On the CarPlay screen, tap the name of the vehicle you want to forget under the My Car options. If you connect to multiple vehicles, you may have more than one car listed here, and if you want to turn CarPlay off on all of them, you’ll need to repeat the steps for each vehicle.

Once you choose to forget a vehicle in your CarPlay app, you’ll have to go through the process of re-adding it to access it again in the future.

Tap Forget This Car.

Then in the confirmation message that appears, tap Forget again to confirm that you no longer want to use CarPlay with this vehicle. Once you tap Forget the vehicle will be removed from Apple CarPlay.

If you do choose to turn off CarPlay using this method, you’ll be completely disabling the feature, so until you go back through these instructions and re-enable CarPlay, you won’t be able to use it.

  • Open your iPhone’s Settings and then tap Screen Time.
  • On the Screen Time settings page, scroll down and tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  • In Content & Privacy Restrictions, if you haven’t already enabled Content & Privacy Restrictions, toggle it on (the button turns green).
  • Once your apps are showing as editable, then find and tap Allowed Apps.
  • On the Allowed Apps screen, toggle off CarPlay. This blocks it from being accessed at all, both wirelessly and when your phone is connected to a cable. To use CarPlay in the future, you’ll have to toggle this option back on, first.

Open your iPhone’s Settings and then tap Screen Time.

On the Screen Time settings page, scroll down and tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.

In Content & Privacy Restrictions, if you haven’t already enabled Content & Privacy Restrictions, toggle it on (the button turns green).

Once your apps are showing as editable, then find and tap Allowed Apps.

On the Allowed Apps screen, toggle off CarPlay. This blocks it from being accessed at all, both wirelessly and when your phone is connected to a cable. To use CarPlay in the future, you’ll have to toggle this option back on, first.

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