How to Kid-Proof Your iPhone and iPad

The estimated reading time for this post is 5 minutes

Q. Help! I need to know if I can kid-proof my iPhone. My 4-year old loves to play her favorite game app on my iPhone. That’s great, except for yesterday when, instead of playing that game, she used my phone to call my boss on a FaceTime video call!

Luckily, my boss thought it was funny to get a FaceTime call from my daughter, but I may never live it down at work.

I want to let my daughter use her favorite app my iPhone but I don’t want her getting into trouble with it.

Can I kid-proof my iPhone? If so, how?

A. You’re not alone. Many parents use their iPhones to keep their children busy. But as sure as the sun rises in the east, kids will get into trouble when using their parents’ iPhones.

Whether kids are tech-savvy or accidentally cause problems, they may do better if they’re restricted to a single app when they borrow your phone.

Your iPhone and iPad have a setting called Guided Access that can restrict use of your iDevice to one app. By taking a few minutes to set up Guided Access you can make sure that your child only has access to a single app. She can use the app without being able to leave the app or open any other apps.

By using Guided Access in Settings, you can restrict your child to using a single app on your iDevice. You can make sure your child can only use one app and can’t get to any other apps such as FaceTime, Mail, Messages, Safari, etc.

[note]You can follow these instructions to kid-proof your iPhone and your iPad. You will have to set up Guided Access to use it on each device.[/note]

You can even use Guided Access to block parts of the screen in an app so your child can’t adjust settings in the app, make in-app purchases or connect to Game Center. You can also set a time limit for your child to use an app.

It’s Not Just for Kids!

Guided Access isn’t only for kids. You may have other reasons for restricting access to your iPhone.

Let’s say your boss needs to borrow your phone to make a call (her phone isn’t getting reception or the battery is dead).

You hand over your phone, a wee bit nervous about:

• some silly photos taken at a party,
• a text message you sent to a friend calling your boss a “lazy jerk,”
• and/or an email you received about a possible new job.

Use Guided Access to quickly restrict the use of your phone to a single app. Your boss won’t be able to do anything with your iPhone other than use the Phone app.

Setting up Guided Access

You must set up Guided Access in Settings before you can use this feature.

Go to:

Settings => General => Accessibility

Scroll way down to Guided Access and tap it. You’ll be taken to the Guided Access screen.

Swipe the switch to the right to turn on Guided Access.

You’ll see a screen with settings for Guided Access:

Passcode Settings

Tap Passcode Settings to set up a passcode for Guided Access that can be different from the passcode you use to unlock your phone.

You can also enable Touch ID to exit Guided Access. With Touch ID enabled you can use your finger to exit the app, if you’ve set up Touch ID on your phone.

=> See, 15 Must-Do Steps to Make Your iPhone Work Best for You! to learn about setting up Touch ID on your iPhone.

Using Guided Access

After you’ve enabled Guided Access in Settings you can start restricting use of your phone to a single app. Guided Access works with all apps, but you can only restrict the use of your phone to one app at a time.

To restrict use of an app using Guided Access, open the app you want to restrict, then triple-tap the Home button.

Options

The first time you enable Guided Access in an app, you’ll see Options in the lower left corner of the screen. Tap Options to enable or disable options for using that app.

You can set different options for each app, allowing/disallowing access to:

• Sleep/Wake Button
• Volume Buttons
• Motion sensor
• Keyboards
• Touch

In Options you can set a time limit for Guided Access if you don’t want your child on your phone for an extended period of time. Set the amount of time you want to allow your child to use the app.

Tap Done when finished choosing your options.

[note]After you’ve used Guided Access in an app, you can just triple-tap the Home button to enable it again. You don’t need to set Options each time you turn on Guided Access for an app.[/note]

Blocking Parts of the Screen

Using Guided Access you can circle areas of the screen you don’t want your child to have access to. This way you can prevent your child from making in-app purchases, using Game Center, etc.

Draw a circle around the area on the screen you want to block access to. A gray circle will appear over the section you’ve blocked.

Beginning Guided Access

After you’ve triple-tapped the Home button in an app (and set the Options if it’s the first time you’re using Guided Access for that app), you’re ready to use Guided Access.

Press Start in the upper right corner of the screen to begin using Guided Access.

Exiting Guided Access

When you want to exit Guided Access and use other apps on your phone, triple-tap the Home button and enter the passcode. You can also use Touch ID to exit Guided Access if you’ve chosen that option in Settings.

You’ll be given the option to end or resume using Guided Access. You can also change the Options for using Guided Access within that app.

Tap End in the upper left corner to exit Guided Access.

[tip] Be sure to set up and practice using Guided Access before you need to use it. [/tip]

Your Thoughts

Have you ever wanted to restrict access to your iPhone or iPad? Have you ever had a child get into trouble on your iDevice? Has a friend ever borrowed your phone and snooped around in your photos, text messages, email, etc.? What would you use Guided Access for on your iPhone?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

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• Child image (edited) courtesy of Stuart Miles via Freedigitalphotos.net