How to lock your iPhone apps in iOS 18

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Key Takeaways

  • With iOS 18, you can lock apps with Face ID for parental control.
  • Apps can also be hidden from your Lock Screen.
  • Hide or lock browsing, streaming, messaging, and dating apps to protect kids.



As a parent, there are some big decisions you have to make, but thankfully, many of these can be deferred until they’re a little older. If you have younger kids, you don’t need to worry (yet) about when to get them their first phone. They’re more than happy for you to hand them your own smartphone when they’re bored, so that they can watch endless YouTube videos or play games.

Handing a small child your iPhone can be a little nerve-wracking, however. The whole point of giving them your iPhone is so that it can keep them entertained for a while, so you don’t have to. You don’t want to be constantly looking over their shoulder checking that they’re not using your iPhone for anything that they’re not supposed to.


Thankfully, iOS 18 has introduced a new feature that’s perfect for parents. It’s now possible to lock any apps you wish, so that they can only be opened using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. You can safely hand your iPhone to your child, knowing that they’ll only be able to get into the apps that you allow them to. Here’s how to lock your kids out of your iPhone apps in iOS 18.

How to lock apps with Face ID in iOS 18

You can lock any app so that it can only be opened with your face

In iOS 18, it’s now possible to lock apps so that they require authentication using Face ID before they will open. This means that if you’ve given your iPhone to a child, they won’t be able to open any of the locked apps since they require your face for Face ID authentication. There is an option to unlock using your passcode if Face ID fails, so make sure that your kids aren’t aware of your passcode, or they may still be able to access your apps.


If you’re using an iPhone SE (the second generation or later will run iOS 18), then you can lock your apps using Touch ID instead of Face ID, meaning your kids won’t be able to open your apps without your fingerprint.

  1. Tap and hold on an app you want to lock.
  2. Select Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID on iPhone SE).
  3. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID) to confirm your decision.
  4. When you try to open the app, it will try to authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID.
  5. You may see a message on the screen stating that Face ID or Touch ID is required to open the app.
  6. If Face ID or Touch ID fails, you’ll be asked to enter your passcode.
  7. Once authenticated by Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, the app will open.

How to unlock apps in iOS 18

You can unlock apps so that anyone can open them


Unlocking apps using Face ID is almost instant, so it’s not a big issue to leave apps locked even when your kids aren’t using your iPhone. If you do decide you want to unlock them, however, then it’s simple enough to do so.

  1. Tap and hold the app that you want to unlock.
  2. Select Don’t Require Face ID (or Don’t Require Touch ID on iPhone SE).
  3. Authenticate using Face ID (or Touch ID).
  4. If this fails, you’ll be asked to try again.
  5. If it fails a second time, you’re given the option to enter your passcode instead.
  6. Once you’ve authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, your app is unlocked and can be opened without requiring authentication.

How to hide apps in iOS 18

The hidden apps folder can only be unlocked with your face


As well as locking visible apps on your iPhone in iOS 18, it’s also possible to hide apps. This places the apps in a hidden folder that can only be opened using Face ID, Touch ID (on the iPhone SE), or your passcode.

It’s not possible to hide pre-installed apps such as Safari, but any third-party apps that you’ve downloaded and installed can be hidden in this way. Apps aren’t completely hidden everywhere; the names of hidden apps may pop up in places such as your App Store purchase history or the Screen Time app, but they won’t appear on your Home Screen and aren’t visible in the App Library until you unlock the Hidden folder.


  1. Tap and hold the app you want to hide.
  2. Select Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID if you’re using an iPhone SE).
  3. Tap Hide and Require Face ID.
  4. If Face ID or Touch ID doesn’t work twice, you’ll be prompted to enter your passcode instead.
  5. Once you’ve authenticated by Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, you’ll be asked to confirm your decision. Tap Hide App to confirm.
  6. To open your hidden app, keep swiping left until you get to the App Library screen.
  7. Scroll to the bottom of the screen to the Hidden folder, which should not show any app icons.
  8. Tap the Hidden folder and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.
  9. Your hidden apps should now be visible.
  10. Tap the app you want to open and authenticate again to open it.

How to unhide apps in iOS 18

You can make hidden apps visible again in a few taps

If you want to put a hidden app back onto your Home Screen again, you can unhide it. This will remove it from the Hidden folder. Once unhidden, you can add it back to your Home Screen again.


  1. From your Home Screen, keep swiping left until you reach the App Library screen.
  2. Scroll to the bottom and tap the Hidden folder.
  3. Authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.
  4. Tap and hold the app you want to unhide.
  5. Select Don’t Require Face ID.
  6. Once you’ve authenticated again, swipe down on the App Library screen until the alphabetical list of apps appears.
  7. Swipe through to find the app you’ve just unhidden.
  8. Tap and hold the app and select Add to Home Screen.
  9. Your app will now appear on your Home Screen, and you can place it wherever you wish.

Which apps should you lock or hide on your iPhone?

You can lock as many apps as you want, but there are some good places to start


If you’re giving your iPhone to your kids so that they can play games or watch videos, then there are a few apps that they probably shouldn’t have access to. You might want to lock or hide these now that it’s possible in iOS 18.

Browsers are good place to start, since kids can easily find things that they shouldn’t when searching in a web browser. You can’t hide Safari, since it’s a native app, but you can lock it so that it requires Face ID to use. If you have other browsers installed, such as Chrome, it’s a good idea to lock or hide these, too.

YouTube Kids is a great app if you want to let your kids gawp at age-appropriate content without worrying about them stumbling on things that they shouldn’t be watching. The standard YouTube app has no such guardrails, however, so if you have that app installed, you probably want to lock or hide it, too.

Browsers are good place to start, since kids can easily find things that they shouldn’t when searching in a web browser. You can’t hide Safari, since it’s a native app, but you can lock it so that it requires Face ID to use.


Streaming apps such as Netflix and Disney+ often let you set up kids’ accounts and password protect the adult accounts, so that they can only watch the content that’s suitable for their age group. If you haven’t set this up, or the app doesn’t support creating kids’ accounts, then you may want to lock or hide your streaming apps, too.

Messaging apps can also often contain some NSFW content that’s not appropriate for kids. You can’t hide the Messages app, but you can lock it if necessary. Third party apps such as WhatsApp can be locked and hidden.

Beyond that, it’s really a case of common sense. If you have dating apps on your iPhone, you’re probably going to want to hide those. Banking apps usually have their own forms of authentication, but you might want to lock those just in case. Take a browse through your iPhone and lock up everything you wouldn’t want your kids to play with. Then you can hand them your smartphone without having to worry about what they’re going to get up to.