To lock an iPhone to one app, turn on Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, open the app, triple-click the side button, and tap Start. To get out, triple-click the side button again, enter your Guided Access passcode or use Face ID, and tap End.
These steps are for iOS 27 and iOS 26 and follow Apple’s guide to using Guided Access on iPhone or iPad. On an iPhone with a Home button, use the Home button wherever these steps say side button. An iPad works the same way with the top button or Home button. If your iPhone still runs iOS 18 or earlier, see the version note under How to Get Out of Guided Access, because ending a session works a little differently there.
Guided Access is useful when you hand your phone to a child to watch a video, lend it to someone to look at photos, or want to stay in one app without distractions. It’s built into the iPhone, so there’s nothing to download.
Before you hand over the iPhone: Apple says Crash Detection and emergency services aren’t available during a Guided Access session. End the session first if you need to call for help.
How to Turn On Guided Access
You only need to do this once.
- Open Settings and tap Accessibility.
- Scroll down to the General section and tap Guided Access.
- Turn on the Guided Access switch.
- Tap Passcode Settings, then Set Guided Access Passcode, and enter a six-digit passcode twice.
- On the same screen, turn on Face ID or Touch ID if you want to end sessions without typing the passcode.
The Guided Access passcode is separate from the code that unlocks your iPhone and from a Screen Time passcode. Pick one you’ll remember but the person using the phone won’t guess, and avoid reusing your unlock code if that person already knows it. If you skip this step, the iPhone asks you to create a passcode the first time you tap Start.
The other options on the Guided Access screen are:
- Time Limits: play a sound or speak the remaining time before a timed session ends.
- Accessibility Shortcut: show the Accessibility Shortcuts menu when you triple-click during a session.
- Display Auto-Lock: choose how quickly the screen locks during a session. Pick a longer time for videos so the screen doesn’t go dark. The screen locking on its own doesn’t end the session.
Outside a session, the screen follows your regular iPhone Auto-Lock setting.
How to Lock the iPhone to One App
- Open the app you want to lock the iPhone to, such as YouTube or a game.
- Triple-click the side button or Home button.
- If the Accessibility Shortcuts menu appears, tap Guided Access. The Guided Access setup screen appears with a smaller view of the app.
- Optional: circle any part of the screen you want to disable, such as an ad, a menu, or a purchase button. Drag the corners to resize the gray box, or tap the X to remove it.
- Tap Session Settings (or Options) at the bottom left and choose what to allow. Each choice is explained below.
- Tap Start at the top right.
The app fills the screen, and pressing the side button or swiping up won’t leave it. A Guided Access Started banner shows briefly at the top. The iPhone remembers the disabled areas and settings for each app, so the next time you triple-click in that app, the session can start right away with the settings you used last time.
Only one app can be used per session. To switch apps, end the session, open the other app, and start a new one.
Start Guided Access From Control Center
If triple-clicking is awkward, add a Guided Access button to Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center on iPhone, tap the + at the top left, tap Add a Control, search for Guided Access, and tap it. Then open the app you want, open Control Center, and tap the Guided Access button to reach the setup screen.
Guided Access Session Settings
Turn these on or off before you tap Start:
- Side Button (or Home Button): blocks the button so it can’t lock the screen. Triple-clicking still works to end the session.
- Volume Buttons: blocks the volume buttons. On iOS 26.1 and later, this also blocks volume changes from Bluetooth headphones. Set the volume first.
- Motion: stops the app from responding to shaking and stops the screen from rotating. Turn the phone to the orientation you want first.
- Software Keyboards: hides the onscreen keyboard.
- Touch: ignores every tap on the screen. This helps when a toddler keeps tapping a video. Start the video and switch to full screen first, because nothing will respond once the session begins.
- Time Limit: ends access after a time you choose. When time is up, the screen shows Time Expired, and you triple-click and unlock to continue or end the session.
A good setup for a young child watching a video: circle the area with suggested videos, turn off Touch and Volume Buttons, and set a Time Limit such as 30 minutes.
How to Get Out of Guided Access
- Triple-click the side button (or the Home button). Press it three times quickly.
- Enter your Guided Access passcode. If you turned on Face ID or Touch ID for Guided Access, you can look at the phone or rest your finger on the Home button instead.
- If the Accessibility Shortcuts menu appears, tap Guided Access.
- Tap End in the top-left corner.
The Guided Access screen closes and the iPhone works normally again. If you only wanted to change something, tap Session Settings (called Options on some versions), make the change, and then tap Resume to go back into the app. Pausing like this doesn’t end the lock; the app stays locked until you tap End.
On iOS 18 or earlier
Older versions of iOS had two ways out, depending on how you unlocked:
- With the passcode: triple-click the side or Home button, enter the Guided Access passcode, and tap End.
- With Face ID or Touch ID: double-click the side or Home button, authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, and tap End. This only works if Face ID or Touch ID is turned on under Guided Access Passcode Settings.
On iOS 26 and later, a triple-click opens the unlock prompt for the passcode, Face ID, and Touch ID, and a double-click no longer ends the session. To check your version, go to Settings > General > About.
If You Can’t Get Out of Guided Access
Nothing happens when you triple-click
Click faster, with all three presses in about a second. On iOS 18 or earlier, try the double-click and Face ID or Touch ID method described above.
The Accessibility Shortcuts menu appears instead
Tap Guided Access in that menu to reach the End button. Features such as VoiceOver and Zoom share the triple-click shortcut, which is why the menu appears.
The screen doesn’t respond to taps
Touch is probably turned off for the session, or you’re tapping inside a gray disabled area. Triple-click, unlock, tap Session Settings, and turn Touch back on, or tap End.
Face ID or Touch ID doesn’t work
Enter the Guided Access passcode instead. Face ID and Touch ID only end a session if you turned them on under Passcode Settings. Make sure you’re entering the Guided Access passcode, not your Screen Time passcode.
You forgot the Guided Access passcode
Apple’s Guided Access guide doesn’t explain how to reset the passcode during a session. If Face ID or Touch ID is turned on for Guided Access, use that. Otherwise, try Apple’s force restart steps, though Apple doesn’t document this as a way to end Guided Access. On an iPhone 8 or later, press and quickly release volume up, press and quickly release volume down, then hold the side button until the Apple logo appears. Other models have their own steps to force restart an iPhone. If the session comes back after the restart, contact Apple Support rather than trying outside tools. Once you’re out, set a new passcode under Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access > Passcode Settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a child get out of Guided Access?
Not without the passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID you set up. Pressing the side button, swiping up, or holding buttons won’t leave the app. Keep the passcode private, and don’t add the child’s face or fingerprint to your iPhone. Guided Access only keeps them inside the app, so pick an app that’s safe on its own and circle any purchase or link buttons.
Is Guided Access the same as Screen Time?
No. Guided Access locks the iPhone to one app for one session. Screen Time sets ongoing daily limits and content restrictions. Those settings are covered in Screen Time restrictions on iPhone.
To see how much time each app is getting, you can check Screen Time on iPhone.
Can I put a password on a single app instead?
Yes. On iOS 18 and later, you can touch and hold many app icons and choose Require Face ID so the app needs authentication to open. The steps are in hiding or locking apps on iPhone. That protects an app from being opened, while Guided Access keeps someone inside an app you already opened.
Do notifications appear during Guided Access?
Apple’s guide doesn’t cover this, but notification banners don’t pop up while a session is running, so the person using the app won’t see your messages. They’re waiting for you after you end the session.
How do I turn off Guided Access completely?
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access and turn off the Guided Access switch. Triple-clicking will no longer start a session.
Next step: start a short test session in an app you use, then practice ending it before you hand the iPhone to anyone.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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