Since Apple offers a host of distinctive and unique features with its iPhone devices, there are some features which iPhones are yet to offer. Among others, iPhones don’t directly allow locking apps with passcode individually. But three’s a working trick to lock sensitive apps like Photos, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc., saving your day.
This is a workaround feature that comes after the introduction of iOS 12 attached with the Screen Time feature. This trick technically uses Apple’s App Limits attribute to make apps inaccessible after a set time. Here’s how to passcode lock an app on iPhone devices.
- Go to the Settings app. Head to “Screen Time.”
- Enable the Screen Time if not already active.
- A passcode should be set.
- Click on “App Limit” and again, tap on the “Add Limit” option.
- It will show you the category of apps. Select the category in which you want to set the passcode. For example, the Photos app will fall in the “Creativity” category.
- Choose the app and click on “Next” to open the customisation page.
- Choose the desired time limit and enable “Block at End of Limit.”
- Click on the “Add” option in the right upper corner.
- Go to step 3 if you want to activate this feature for any other apps running on your iPhone.
This feature prompts a warning when the set time limit expires and automatically locks the app. To re-access the app, users need to provide the Screen Time passcode.
Since this is a workaround feature to passcode lock any app on the iPhone, it doesn’t allow you to do the same for the Phone app. Also, this feature doesn’t let you see notifications for apps that are locked.
