How to Lock Apps on iPhone (Step By Step Guide)

How to Lock Apps on iPhone (Step By Step Guide)


Protecting your privacy within your iPhone is crucial. Whether you are looking for methods for locking apps on your iPhone or restrict a certain app from your kid’s iPhone/iPad, you have landed on the right page. Unsurprisingly, iPhone does not let you lock an individual app such as Photos, FaceTime, or others, so the process to lock the app on an iOS device is different from Android. However, iOS 12 introduced a feature that allows you to protect your privacy and prevent any mishappening by locking certain apps.




In this article, we have covered some of the easiest ways to set up app limits by setting up passwords for your iOS device for a specific app. We have mentioned three different ways on how to lock apps on iPhone, so you can choose the one that is suitable for you.

So, let us get into the tutorial below.

How To Lock Apps On IPhone Using Screen Time?

Apple comes with a new feature to lock apps on iPhone using the screen time, which was introduced in iOS 12 and later. If you are using iOS 12 to iOS 14, you can easily lock any first-party app you want using the screen time in a few simple steps.

  • Go to Settings on your iPhone.
  • Navigate Screen Time. Make sure that the screen time is enabled on your iPhone.
  • Tap on the App Limit, through which you can set time limits for the apps.
    How to lock apps on iPhone
  • Tap on Add Limit.
    Tap to Add Limit
  • From here, tap on the apps you want to lock by setting up a time limit.
  • Set a time limit for as many apps you want to lock. Once you are done setting up the app limit, tap on ‘Add,’ and there you get to add a limit to your apps!
    Add Apps

The App limits will automatically lock apps on your iPhone after the decided time. After the limit is up, you will have to enter the Lock screen passcode if you want to access the app.

How To Lock Apps On IPhone Through Guided Access?

Guided access is one of the easiest ways to lock apps that prevent from leaving the current app that you are currently using. Although it might not be the ultimate solution to lock apps, it comes in handy when you give your child your iPhone and want to restrict them or prevent them from navigating to other apps.

Follow these steps to lock apps on your iOS device using Guided Access.

  • Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
  • Tap on Accessibility and click on Guided Access. Make sure that you switch the toggle to Guided Access.
    Accessibility Option on iPhone
  • Now go to Passcode setting and then click on Set guided Access passcode.
    Open Passcode Settings
  • Set up a new password and re-enter the passcode to confirm.

Once you are done setting up, you can use the guided access feature on any app on your phone by opening the app and pressing the home button three times or the side button thrice. If you own a touch Id enabled iPhone, you can quickly use the touch ID to end the guided access session.

Use Touch ID To Lock Compatible Applications:

One of the easiest ways to lock apps on an iPhone other than setting up screen time passcode is by touch ID and Face ID. This is only possible for certain apps such as Apple pay, App store, and iTunes.

  • Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  • Head to Touch ID and passcode (Face ID and passcode for iPhone X and later) section, then enter your passcode.
    Faceid & Passcode option on iphone
  • Turn on the toggles for the apps you need to lock on your iPhone using Touch ID.

Note: This method only works for certain apps, including iTunes, App Store, and Apple Pay. You cannot lock apps, including social networking or any individual app.

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