5 Ways to Lock or Hide Apps on Your iPhone

Your iPhone probably holds private messages, photos, email, banking details, and plenty else you don’t want someone browsing. That can make lending it to a child or friend surprisingly stressful.

iOS 18 and newer addresses this by letting you lock or hide individual apps with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Screen Time handles broader restrictions, including parental controls and scheduled access.

Before You Change Anything

The first two methods require iOS 18 or newer. Check your version under Settings > General > About, or install available updates through Settings > General > Software Update.

Screen Time restrictions work best with a separate passcode. If your child knows that code, they can request more time or change the restrictions you’ve configured.

To create one:

1. Open Settings > Screen Time.
2. Scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
3. Enter a four-digit passcode that differs from your iPhone unlock code.
4. Enter your Apple Account details when prompted. These let you recover the Screen Time passcode if you forget it.

Apple provides more details in its Screen Time setup guide.

1. Lock an Individual App With Face ID or Touch ID

This is the best option when you’ve been struggling with people opening a sensitive app after you hand them an unlocked iPhone. The lock applies to that app without restricting the rest of the device.

1. Find the app on your Home Screen.
2. Touch and hold its icon to open the Quick Actions menu.
3. Tap Require Face ID, Require Touch ID, or Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone.
4. Tap the same option again to confirm.
5. Authenticate when prompted.

The app will request authentication whenever someone opens it. Its contents are also excluded from notification previews, searches, Siri suggestions, and call history.

That extra privacy matters. Locking Messages, for example, prevents a message preview from exposing the conversation before anyone opens the app.

To remove the lock, touch and hold the app again, choose Don’t Require Face ID or the equivalent option, and authenticate.

You must lock apps individually because iOS doesn’t provide a switch for locking every app at once. I’d protect Mail, Messages, Photos, password managers, financial apps, and any cloud-storage app containing private files.

Some system apps can’t be locked. Apple also prevents you from locking or hiding an app in a few managed or restricted situations. See Apple’s parental controls guide for the current exceptions.

2. Hide an App From the Home Screen

Hiding an app gives you more privacy than locking it. The app disappears from the Home Screen and moves into the locked Hidden folder in App Library.

1. Touch and hold the app on your Home Screen.
2. Tap Require Face ID, Require Touch ID, or Require Passcode.
3. Choose the option to hide the app. The exact wording can vary by current iOS version and authentication method.
4. Confirm the action and authenticate.

A hidden app won’t appear in Home Screen folders, search results, Siri suggestions, notification previews, or the usual App Library categories. Hiding also locks it, so opening the app still requires authentication.

To find it later:

1. Swipe left through your Home Screen pages until you reach App Library.
2. Scroll to the bottom.
3. Tap Hidden.
4. Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.

Hidden apps haven’t been deleted. If an app seems to have vanished after you protected it, the Hidden folder is the first place to check.

3. Disable Built-In Apps and Features With Screen Time

Screen Time’s Allowed Apps & Features controls access to supported Apple apps and system capabilities. It’s useful when you’re setting up a child’s iPhone or want to remove features that shouldn’t be available.

1. Open Settings > Screen Time.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
3. Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Tap Allowed Apps & Features.
5. Turn off each supported app or feature you want to block.

Turning off an item here makes it unavailable until someone changes the Screen Time setting. It doesn’t delete the app or its data.

This menu covers supported Apple apps and features rather than every third-party app you’ve installed. Use an App Limit for a downloaded game or social app, or lock it directly if privacy is the main concern.

For a child’s device in your Family Sharing group, select the child under Settings > Family and manage their Screen Time controls there. Apple’s guide explains the family setup.

4. Set a Daily App Limit

App Limits restrict how long an app or category can be used each day. This solves the “one more game” problem, though it isn’t as strict as disabling a supported feature through Allowed Apps & Features.

1. Open Settings > Screen Time > App Limits.
2. Tap Add Limit.
3. Select an app category, then expand it if you want to choose an individual app.
4. Tap Next.
5. Set the daily allowance.
6. Tap Customize Days if the schedule should differ during weekends or school days.
7. Make sure Block at End of Limit is enabled.
8. Tap Add.

Once the allowance runs out, iOS blocks the app unless someone enters the Screen Time passcode to approve more time. Limits reset each day.

A one-minute limit can make an app nearly unavailable, but it still grants that minute. For sensitive information, use the built-in app lock. For a supported Apple feature that should remain unavailable, turn it off under Allowed Apps & Features.

5. Block Most Apps on a Schedule With Downtime

Downtime restricts apps during set hours while keeping selected essentials available. It works well for bedtime, homework periods, or a regularly shared device.

1. Open Settings > Screen Time > Downtime.
2. Turn on Scheduled.
3. Choose Every Day or Customize Days.
4. Set the start and end times.
5. Enable Block at Downtime.
6. Return to the main Screen Time page and tap Always Allowed.
7. Remove any app that shouldn’t remain available during Downtime.

An app listed under Always Allowed stays accessible during Downtime. Check that list if your schedule appears to be working but a particular app still opens.

Downtime without Block at Downtime provides a softer reminder that can be bypassed. Turn that setting on when you need actual enforcement.

When Guided Access Is the Better Choice

Guided Access keeps the iPhone inside one open app. It doesn’t protect individual apps while someone moves around iOS, but it’s useful when you’re handing over your phone for a game, video, form, or FaceTime call.

Set it up under Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access:

1. Turn on Guided Access.
2. Open Passcode Settings.
3. Set a Guided Access passcode and enable biometric authentication if available.
4. Open the app the other person can use.
5. Triple-click the Side button, or triple-click the Home button on an iPhone that has one.
6. Adjust the session options, then tap Start.

Triple-click the same button to end the session, authenticate, and tap End. You can also disable touch, hardware buttons, or selected areas of the screen before starting.

Fix Common App Restriction Problems

The Locked App Still Shows Notifications

A locked app can still indicate that a notification arrived, but sensitive content shouldn’t appear in its preview. Confirm that you used the app’s Require Face ID, Require Touch ID, or Require Passcode action rather than changing notification settings alone.

A Hidden App Has Disappeared

Open App Library, scroll to the bottom, and authenticate to open Hidden. The app remains installed, along with its data.

App Limits Can Be Ignored

Open the limit under Settings > Screen Time > App Limits and enable Block at End of Limit. Then protect Screen Time with a passcode the other person doesn’t know.

Downtime Leaves Certain Apps Available

Check Settings > Screen Time > Always Allowed and remove those apps. Also confirm that Block at Downtime is enabled in the Downtime settings.

Your Child Changed the Restrictions

Change the Screen Time passcode and keep it separate from the device passcode. If you’re managing a child’s iPhone through Family Sharing, make the changes from the parent or guardian’s device.

Which Method Should You Use?

Use the built-in app lock for private apps you still want on the Home Screen. Hide an app when you also want to prevent casual discovery.

For a child’s device, combine a unique Screen Time passcode with Allowed Apps & Features, App Limits, and Downtime. Guided Access handles the narrower job of lending your iPhone while keeping the other person inside one app.

That combination solves the privacy problem without installing a questionable “app locker.” iOS already provides stronger controls, and third-party apps can’t replace these system-level protections on a standard iPhone.