Protect an iPhone app with an access code
Probably you are not the only one who can unlock your iPhone or iPad – your partner also knows your access code, for example. But maybe you’d rather not want them to be able to snoop into certain apps, like WhatsApp. What you can do is secure an iPhone app with an access code.
Protect iPhone app
Actually, Apple does not have a built-in feature to protect an app with a code or password, but with the introduction of Screen Time in iOS 12 there is a detour.
- First, make sure Screen time is on. To do this, open the Settings app on your iPhone, and then tap on ‘Screen time’.
- Activate the function and tap on ‘Use access code for screen time’. Enter an access code and remember it properly.
Did you activate Screen Time for the first time? Then open the app that you want to protect so that the app appears in the Screen Time statistics. Then you can secure the iPhone app by doing the following:
- Go back to “Settings> Screen time” and tap on the statistics at the top.
- Under “Most used”, tap the app you want to block and choose ” Add limit ‘
- Enter your access code, set the limit to’ 0 hours and 1 minute ‘and choose’ Add ‘.
Unfortunately, the limit is not in the set to 0 minutes, so the first minute the app will remain unprotected. Open the app at the beginning of a day of one minute – then the rest of the day the access code is needed to use the app. You will then see the following:
Protect iPhone
You can continue to use the app simply by opening the app and clicking on ‘Ask for more time’. enter your access code. You can then use the app for example for fifteen minutes. Keep in mind that the app is also unprotected for fifteen minutes – even if you close the app after a minute.
It is not an ideal security layer, but iOS does not offer a better option yet. If you want to protect your photos from prying eyes, you better use an app to lock the images.