Sometimes my nephew wants to watch monster truck videos on my iPhone so I'll pull up a video on YouTube and hand him my phone. But if I get distracted by something else, he's suddenly looking through my Amazon app and about to buy a monster truck toy -- or five. Luckily, Apple lets you lock and hide apps so I can keep my nephew out of my shopping apps so I don't suddenly have a $500 charge for various monster truck memorabilia.
When Apple released iOS 18 in 2024, the tech giant introduced a feature to lock certain apps on your iPhone. That way you can keep kids and others out of your apps. You can also hide certain apps in their own hidden folder so others are not tempted to open them and invade your privacy. So now I can hand my nephew my iPhone and not worry that he might get into something he shouldn't be in.
Here's how to lock and hide your iPhone apps for an extra layer of security.
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How to lock your iPhone apps
1. Long press an app.
2. Tap Require Face ID.
3. Tap Require Face ID again.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET
Now every time you try to access this app, it will need your Face ID or passcode to open. You can't lock every app on your iPhone. Some apps, like Camera, Find My and Settings can't be locked. But you can lock most apps, such as App Store, Messages and third-party apps.
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