Apple Devices:
There is an easy-to-use feature called Guided Access on your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. This feature allows you to lock your device to a single app or a single screen and keeps the device from opening any other apps.
(Shout out to those lovable kids who can’t get enough YouTube. 😂)
It can also set time limits for use, so those grandkids don’t get overdosed on screen time.
The best part? All you have to do to turn it on is triple-click the side button while in ANY app. Simple, huh?
But first, you have to enable it. Here’s how to do that.
HOW TO ENABLE GUIDED ACCESS:
1. Go to Settings > Accessibility, then turn on Guided Access.
2. Tap Passcode Settings, then tap Set Guided Access Passcode.
3. Enter a passcode, then re-enter it. From here, you can also turn on Face ID or Touch ID as a way to end a Guided Access session.
4. Turn on the Accessibility Shortcut allowing the three-click shortcut to start Guided Access.
Androids:
Androids don’t have a feature exactly like Guided Access, but you can pin apps to the screen and it works in much the same way. Once an app is pinned, no other apps can be opened until it is unpinned.
However, unlike Guided Access for Apple devices, Android’s app-pinning feature does not allow you to set a custom passcode to unlock the device, meaning anyone who can unlock your device (i.e., knows your passcode) can bypass the pinned app.
HOW TO ENABLE SCREEN PINNING:
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Security & location > Screen pinning.
3. Tap the screen pinning toggle switch to enable the feature.
You can also tap Ask for PIN before unpinning if you want screen pinning to use your PIN when attempting to unpin an app.
HOW TO USE SCREEN PINNING (once enabled):
Once you’ve activated the feature, it’s easy to use screen pinning anytime you want to limit access to your device.
1. Open the app you want to pin.
2. Tap the square app switcher icon to open the app switcher screen.
3. Tap the thumbtack Screen pinning icon.
4. The screen of the selected app is now pinned.
5. To unpin the app, simply tap and hold the back and app switcher buttons.