Keeping Your Privacy While Letting Others Use Your iPhone – iOS 18 New Updates

You hand your iPhone to your nephew so he can play a game. Or to a friend who wants to browse your vacation photos. It seems harmless, but what if they start poking around other apps by accident – reading your private messages or poking into your online dating profile? Even close friends and family members can stumble on parts of your digital life you’d rather keep private.

Fortunately, Apple has introduced new features in iOS 18 that let you lock down specific apps with Face ID. This means anyone can use and enjoy certain aspects of your iPhone while your private info stays private.

In this post, our iOS experts, also known for providing exceptional iPhone app development services, will guide you through iOS 18’s new privacy features.

The Era of Universal App Locking

In the past, some apps like banking and social media apps had their own Face ID locking built-in by developers. But this was inconsistent. Now, with iOS 18, Face ID protection extends universally across all apps – no developer input is required. Games, messaging, social media – everything is lockable.

This new consistency and expanded capability finally puts full app privacy controls in the hands of users. No more guessing which apps can lock or remembering specialized login sequences. Just tap an icon to lock down anything you choose via Face ID. Much simpler for you – much more effective privacy.

Locking Apps in Two Simple Steps

The process Apple created for locking apps couldn’t be much easier:

• Long press the app icon to pull up the pop-up menu
• Tap “Require Face ID”

That’s it! The next time that app is launched, your iPhone will prompt for the Face ID scan to permit entry.

And again, this now works for any and every app on your phone, thanks to the universal capabilities ushered in by iOS 18.

Hiding Apps for Complete Privacy

In addition to locking apps behind Face ID, you can completely hide them in iOS 18. Great for those apps holding your most private info and activities.

Choose “Hide and Require Face ID” when hiding an app from that same pop-up menu. This not only locks it with Face ID but also:

• Removes the icon from your home screen
• Stores it in a hidden folder within the App Library
• Stops all notifications

So now your private apps can be truly private – invisible, siloed, and muted until you reveal them with your face.

Please note that built-in Apple apps can be locked but not hidden. So you can keep Apple apps private via Face ID, but their icons will remain visible.

Regaining Access to Locked & Hidden Apps

If you need to undo the Face ID locking or unhide apps later, just long-press the icon again to pull up the menu:

• For locked apps, choose “Remove Face ID”
• For hidden apps, you’ll have to go into the App Library Hidden folder, long-press it there, and then choose to unhide it.

Once unhidden, you must manually move the app icon back to your home screen.

So, while adding security takes just a tap, removing it requires going through the full process again. This helps prevent accidental privacy breaches.

Locking Into a Single App with Guided Access

Alongside full app locking for privacy across your iPhone, Apple also expanded capabilities around the Guided Access feature in iOS 18.

Guided Access lets you lock the device into just a single app. This is perfect for when handing your phone to a young child or to someone who should only access one app or game.

To start, you’ll need to turn on Guided Access in Settings:

• Go to Accessibility > Guided Access
• Slide the toggle to enable
• Enter a Face ID/passcode if desired

Then, when it’s time to lend out your phone, just:

• Launch the approved app
• Triple-click the power button
• Tap Start under Guided Access

Now your iPhone is stuck in that one app! Navigation bars disappear, background apps are inaccessible, and there’s no way out without triple-clicking the power button again, scanning your face, or entering your passcode.

So, Guided Access creates a single-app guest mode. It’s like handing someone an app kiosk rather than the full capabilities of your iPhone. Perfect for kids, friends, and anyone else you want to limit.

The Future of iPhone Privacy Controls

Between per-app Face ID locking and single-app Guided Access modes, iOS 18 provides the best iPhone privacy controls yet for protecting your personal information while lending out your device. No more worrying about friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers accidentally stumbling on parts of your digital life that you want to keep locked up.

As our mobile devices become more and more central to our personal and professional identities, expect Apple to continue expanding its privacy and security capabilities with each new iOS release.

What started decades ago as productivity devices have become conduits to intimate life details for billions worldwide. Apple understands the gravity of this reality and thankfully empowers its customers with transparent privacy tools to control access.

So feel confident handing your iPhone to others – kids, parents, partners, and everyone else. With Face ID app locks and Guided Access, your privacy now stays with you even when your phone doesn’t.

Also, if you are a business looking to launch iOS apps that seamlessly leverage Apple’s new privacy features, we recommend partnering with a firm that provides reliable iPhone app development services. 

Such a partnership will allow you to deliver feature-rich, secure, and privacy-enabled iOS experiences.