Always Do This Before Letting Someone Borrow Your Phone.
Smartphones have changed our lives, mostly for the better, but they have also increased people’s access to your personal information the moment you share yours. When you allow someone else access to your phone to make a call, view some photos, or try out a new game, you can control what else they can do with it before handing it over. And since these scenarios often occur without warning, you need a quick way to partially block everything.
It’s not just about privacy – you can let someone’s kid borrow their phone to play a game or watch a video, and you don’t need them to buy a $500 Robux while they’re there. The goal is to limit their access by allowing them to get what they need from your phone, and depending on which platform you’re using, you have options that don’t include third-party apps.
How to Block User Access on Android Phone
With Android phones, you have two main approaches:
Guest mode. Depending on your settings, you can click on the user icon in the quick settings and simply select “Add Guest”. This puts the phone into guest mode, which restricts access to the phone’s default apps and prevents access to your data and logins. However, it will only be available if you initially set up an account on your phone and let your guest basically use the device like they would any other phone, just without your logins and saved credit cards.
Screen pinning. A more serious limitation is pinning the application to the screen. You have to enable this in your security settings (you may have to look for it as different manufacturers hide it in different places) but once it’s enabled you can pin any app to your screen and the guest user won’t be able to exit it apps without unlocking your phone with a PIN. To pin an app, simply swipe up or tap the browse button and select pin. You can cancel the pin by swiping up and entering your pin.
How to Block User Access on iPhone
There is a similar process for the iPhone, but it’s called Guided Access. You’ll find this option in Accessibility settings. Once enabled, you can do the following anytime some sticky-fingered kid wants to watch a YouTube video on your phone:
- Open the intended application.
- Triple-click the side button or the Home button, depending on your OS version. You can also say “Siri, turn on Guided Access.”
- You can trace elements on the screen with your finger if you want to turn off certain areas, but this is not required.
- Click Start, then enter your password.
Now your phone will only allow anyone to use the app on the screen without access to anything else.