Guided Access on iPhone

Lock your iPhone to a single app, disable parts of the screen and require a passcode to leave.

Apple built Guided Access as an accessibility feature for parents, teachers and caregivers. It also helps when you hand your phone to someone for one specific thing.

Set it up once

1. Open Settings and tap Accessibility.
2. Tap Guided Access and turn it on.
3. Tap Passcode Settings, then Set Guided Access Passcode. Enter a code.
4. Turn on Face ID or Touch ID in the same place if you want a quicker way out.

Two more settings on that screen are useful. Time Limits controls the sound or spoken warning before a timed session ends. Display Auto-Lock sets how quickly the phone sleeps during a session.

Start a session

1. Open the app you want.
2. Triple-click the side button. On a phone with a Home button, triple-click that. You can also ask Siri or add a control to Control Center.
3. Tap Guided Access if a panel appears.
4. Circle any part of the screen you want to disable. You can drag the outline to move or resize it.
5. Tap Session Settings to choose options.
6. Tap Start.

If you used Guided Access in that app before, the session starts immediately with your earlier settings.

Options in Session Settings

• Side button: blocks the button, except for pausing the session.
• Volume buttons: blocks volume changes. From iOS 26.1, that includes volume controls on Bluetooth headphones.
• Motion: keeps the screen from rotating or reacting to shakes.
• Software keyboards: keeps the keyboard from appearing.
• Touch: ignores all touches.
• Time limit: shows a Time Expired message when the period ends, and the person must triple-click and authenticate.

Turning off Touch is what makes the one-photo trick work. Open a photo, start a session with Touch off and pass the phone across the table. Swipes do nothing.

Circling works well in other situations. If a kid is using a video app, circle the search bar or the recommendations.

End or pause a session

Triple-click the side button and enter your Guided Access passcode, or use Face ID or Touch ID if you turned that on. From there, you can tap Resume, change Session Settings or tap End.

On iOS 18 or earlier, Apple’s support page says to double-click the button to pause.

Know the limits

Emergency calling and Crash Detection do not work during a session. Think about this before you leave a child alone with a phone in Guided Access.

Guided Access applies only for the session and only on that phone. If someone can pick up your phone without a session running, they have your regular Lock Screen protections and nothing more. A locked Photos app covers those moments.

Practice before you need it. The triple-click takes a second to get right, and the first time you try should not be with someone waiting to see a photo.