Imagine you are in a situation where you have no choice but to hand your iPhone or iPad to your child to watch educational videos or attend online classes via Zoom. Wouldn’t you feel concerned about damage to your sensitive files or your kids browsing to other websites or videos? Most likely you would. Also, if you give the device to a toddler, they tend to tap all over the screen. They could mess with your settings, send messages or call someone unknowingly. That’s where Guided Access comes in. For better parental controls, Guided Access in iOS 14 lets you disable the touchscreen on an iPhone and iPad before handing it over to your child. By using this feature, you can limit your child’s access to a specific app, so let me show you how this parental control feature works:
Disable Touchscreen on iPhone and iPad for Kids
To get the most out of this accessibility feature, it would be good to start by stripping out the basics. You can use the table below to jump to a relevant section at any time.
What is Guided Access on iOS?
Guided Access is designed to limit your iPhone or iPad to one app, allowing you to control the features available during this time. To be precise, it allows you to offer anyone restricted access to your device.
Beyond parental controls, the ability to lock the iPhone into an app and disable touch altogether can also be really useful when you’re on a long viewing binge. Yeah, you read that right! You can take advantage of this feature to prevent any accidental touch or tap from interrupting smooth playback.
As iOS offers an easy way to turn Guided Access on and off on iPhone, which is a nifty move, you can come and go easily. That said, let’s dive straight into the steps and see how it works.
Enable Guided Access on your iPhone or iPad
To get started, you’ll need to enable Guided Access and adjust it to suit your needs.
- Launch it Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Now press Accessibility.
3. Next, scroll down and choose Guided access.
4. Next, enable the toggle for Guided Access.
To note:
- Once you’ve enabled Guided Access on your iOS device, you can customize passcode settings, time limits, and automatic display locks. Additionally, there is also an option to enable the accessibility shortcut by triple clicking the side/power button. To do this, make sure to turn on the toggle right next to Accessibility Shortcut.
- You also need to set the guided passcode and enable the toggle for Face ID (subject to availability). It will let you double-click the side button to end Guided Access with Face ID.
Disable the touchscreen on your iPhone and iPad
5. Once you have enabled Guided Access on your iOS device, launch the preferred app. For this guide, I’m going to use YouTube. So, open the app and play a video. After that, triple-click the side/power button then press Options in the lower left corner of the screen.
6. Next, disable Touch to disable the touch screen.
7. Now press To start up in the upper-right corner of the screen, then set a guided passcode (if you haven’t set it previously).
That is just about everything! You have successfully disabled the touchscreen on your iPhone/iPad and the person using the device is limited to only one app, which is YouTube in this case.
Exit Guided Access Mode and Re-Enable Touchscreen on iPhone and iPad
Exiting Guided Access on iOS is very easy. Follow the steps below to re-enable the touchscreen on your iPhone or iPad:
- Triple click the side/power button of your device.
- Now enter the Guided access password.
- Then press To finish in the upper left corner of the screen.
Use Guided Access to disable your iPhone and iPad’s touchscreen
That is just about everything! Now that you know how this hidden gem works, take advantage of it to prevent your child from going too far or to improve your media viewing experience. Personally, I make sure to put it into action before going on a Money Heist or Friends viewing spree. I always keep Guided Access enabled on my iPhone, which means I can start using it with the quick triple-tap gesture anytime.
Accessibility in iOS 14 has a wide range of useful features, including Magnifier, Switch Control, VoiceOver, and Guided Access. Let me know your favorite and why you love them the most in the comments below.
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