YOU can lock your iPhone to show just one app, photo or video – keeping nosy snoopers at bay.
If you ever need to pass your iPhone over to let someone see something, you’ll want to activate this trick just before.
AppleBefore you hand your iPhone to someone, consider turning on Guided Access[/caption]
The SunYou can find Guided Access in your Settings app[/caption]
So if that person is looking at Google Maps for directions, they can’t have a quick peek at your texts or pics.
The feature is called Guided Access and lets you set up strict controls for what someone can do with your mobile.
It’s also very handy if you’re letting a kid play a game on your iPhone.
With Guided Access, they won’t be able to roam free into other apps.
GUIDED ACCESS TRICK FOR IPHONE
First, you’ll need to turn Guided Access on in your iPhone’s default settings app.
Just go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access.
There you’ll find a toggle setting to activate the feature.
And then if you go into Passcode Settings, you can set a Guided Access Passcode.
You’ll also be able to set it up so that Face ID or Touch ID can end Guided Access.
There’s also a Time Limits option that you can use, as well as a Display Auto-Lock feature where you can decide how long it takes for your iPhone to lock itself during Guided Access.
Then you can go to an app and start a Guided Access session.
Once your chosen app is open, just triple-click the side button. If you’re using an older iPhone with a Home button, triple-click that instead.
You can then circle parts of the screen that you don’t want to respond to touch – and you can move or resize the circles.
Then tap on Guided Access > Start to begin the session.
The SunYou’ll be able to adjust your Guided Access settings to make it right for you[/caption]
Another option is to just tell Siri: “Turn on Guided Access.”
You’ll also be able to choose from a bunch of different options.
For instance, you can turn off the volume and sleep buttons on your phone, lock its rotation, turn off the keyboard, and even ignore screen touches.
The last option is great because it means people can’t escape a specific video or photo, if you choose.
LOCK THEM DOWN!
For even more privacy, make sure that you lock and hide sensitive apps…
It’s now possible to lock and even hide apps that you don’t want other people seeing.
You’ll need iOS 18 for this – go to Settings > General > Software Update to download it.
Then simply press your finger down on an app icon and choose Require Face ID > Require Face ID.
That will make it so a specific app can’t be opened without an extra unlock first.
If you instead choose Require Face ID > Hide and Require Face ID, then the app will be hidden too.
You’ll be able to find it by swiping to the far-right Home Screen panel, which is your App Library.
Head to the bottom of the App Library and look for the Hidden folder.
It won’t show if it has anything in until you tap it and unlock it with your face or fingerprint.
You can unlock and unhide apps at any time.
Picture Credit: The Sun / Apple
You can set up a time limit too, if you only want someone to be using Guided Access for a short period.
Then once the session is over, you can just triple-click the Side or Home button, enter the passcode, and choose End.
Or if you instead chose to use Touch ID or Face ID for the feature, you’ll only need to do a double-click.
If you want to make your mobile truly snooper-proof, read our five iPhone tricks to stop people from spying on you.
And learn the clues that show someone has unlocked your iPhone to read your texts.