Hey parents, how many times have you pulled up a game or video for your kids to play or watch only for them to navigate away and end up in a totally different app? Well, there’s an easy way to fix that and keep them in one specific app. 

It’s called Guided Access and, essentially, it locks your phone in one app. You can also control specific elements, like disabling the volume buttons, setting a time limit and having the device ignore screen touches.

Watch this video to see how to set up the Guided Access feature on your iPhone or iPad.

How to use Guided Access

To enable the Guided Access feature, find and toggle the feature on in the Accessibility section of your device’s settings. 

When the setting is active, triple click the lock button to turn it on. Then, set any additional parameters, like disabling specific parts of the screen or locking the volume buttons and tap Start. It requires you to set a passcode that will be used to end the Guided Access session. This passcode does not have to be the same as the passcode you see to unlock your device.

To end the session, triple tap the lock button and input the passcode, or double click to end it with Face ID. 

You can adjust the passcode settings in the Guided Access settings. 

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Screen Time

Another place to set some parameters for a device used by a kid is in the Screen Time settings. 

You might be familiar with the setting and how it allows you to set time limits for different types of apps. But there are some features tucked in there that you might want to explore, like ways to prevent your child from sending or receiving sensitive content and setting parameters around who your child can communicate with at specific times of the day.