Locking down iPad or iPhone to one App is one way of preventing your kids from accessing content that they are not supposed to. You will find below the steps to Lock Down iPad or iPhone to one App using “Guided Access” feature as available in iOS.
Lock Down iPad and iPhone to One App Using Guided Access
Introduced by Apple in iOS 6, Guided Access allows parents to lock down their iPad or iPhone to a single app, which prevents Kids from opening other apps.
This feature can be effectively used to turn your iPad into an educational tool, by locking down the device to just one educational app, followed by a Play app as a form of reward for using the educational app.
Guided Access also allows parents to disable certain parts of the screen, disable certain device buttons and set time limits for Kids activity on iPad.
Once the Kid is done playing or learning on your iPad, you can easily exit Guided Access using a passcode and regain full control of your device.
1. Setup Guided Access on iPad and iPhone
In order to limit your iPhone or iPad to a single app, you need to setup guided access on your device by following the steps below.
1. Open the Settings on your iPad or iPhone
2. Next, tap on General and then tap on Accessibility
3. On the next screen scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap on Guided Access
4. Next, turn on Guided Access on your device by moving the slider to ON position (See image below)
2. Setup Passcode for Guided Access
The next step now is to setup a passcode so that you can exit guided access.
1. Tap on Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access
2. On the next screen tap on Passcode Settings
3. Next, tap on Set Guided Access Passcode. In case you want to use Touch ID as a passcode, tap on the slider next to Touch ID (See image below)
4. On the next screen, create a Passcode for enabling and disabling Guided Access on your device.
3. Lock Down iPad or iPhone to One App
Now that you have setup Guided Access on your device and also created a passcode, you can now finally Lock Down your iPad or iPhone to One app using Guided Access.
1. First Open the app that you want your Kid to use on your device.
2. Next, Triple click on the home button
3. On the Next screen, tap on Start from the top right corner of your screen (See image below).
As simple as that, your iPad will now be locked to this single App.
Exit Guided Access on Your iPad or iPhone
Once your kids have finished using your iPad, you can exit guided access by entering the passcode that you created above.
1. Triple click on the home button
2. When prompted, enter the Guided Access Passcode that you created, or simply exit Guided Access using your Touch ID (in case you had set Touch ID as a Guided Access Passcode)
3. Next, tap on End from the top left corner of your screen (See image below)
Disable Certain Areas of Screen Using Guided Access
As mentioned earlier, Guided Access also allows you to disable certain parts of the screen, making these parts completely unresponsive when a user taps on this area.
1. Triple Click on the Home button
2. On the next screen you will be shown a preview of the app, on this screen circle parts of the screen that you would like to disable.
3. Once you have finished marking areas, tap on Start from the top right corner of your screen (See image below).
How to Set Guided Access Time Limit
You can set a time limit for the Guided Access feature to stay active or enabled on your device. This way you can make sure that your kids are not spending an excessive amount of time on your iPad.
1. Triple click on the home button
2. Next, tap on Options from the bottom left corner of the screen (See image below).
3. On the next screen, toggle on Time Limit by moving the slider next to Time Limit to ON Position (See image below)
4. Set the time as appropriate for your kid and tap on Done from the bottom of your screen
5. Next, tap on Start from the top right corner of your screen to start Guided Access on your device with a set time limit.
Once the set time is finished, Guided Access will automatically disable the app that your Kid was playing and will prompt you to triple click on the Home Button and enter the Guided Access Passcode, in order to continue.
Enable Buttons on Your Device Using Guided Access
By default guided access automatically disables both the sleep/wake button and also the volume buttons. In case required, you can easily enable both these buttons by following the steps below.
1. Triple click on the Home button
2. Next, tap on Options, located at the bottom left corner of your screen
3. On the next screen, tap on the slider next to Sleep/Wake Button option to enable the Sleep/Wake button or tap on the slider next to Volume Buttons option, to enable the volume buttons.
How to Disable Guided Access on iPad or iPhone
In case you do not like the way Guided Access accidentally pops up on your device, whenever you triple click on the Home button by mistake, you can easily disable Guided Access on your device.
1. Tap on Settings and then tap on General
2. Next, tap on Accessibility and then tap on Guided Access
3. Turn Off the feature by moving the slider next to Guided Access option to OFF Position.