Use Guided Access to Lock Your iOS Device

I have many friends and family members who have young children with either their own iPad or who use the families’ iPad on a regular basis. The most common frustration I hear is that the child inadvertently backs out of the approved app they are using and open another one.

There is now a way to prevent this from happening. In iOS 6, Apple has added a feature called Guided Access that will allow you to lock the device into an application with the hardware buttons disabled.

To enable Guided Access, open your Settings app and tap General. Now scroll down to nearly the bottom of the list and tap Accessibility. In this section, you’ll find all the options for assisted usage of your iDevice. Under Learning, tap on Guided Access. Slide the on/off slider to the right to turn the feature on. You should now have two new options to choose from: Set Passcode and Enable Screen Sleep. Tap Set Passcode and set the four-digit code that will be used to get out of Guided Access mode.

If you want your device to sleep while in Guided Access mode, slide the Enable Screen Sleep slider to On. Back up one on your menu and go back to the main Accessibility menu. If you look all the way at the bottom under Triple-click you’ll see what Accessibility feature is activated when you triple-click on the home button. Make sure it’s Guided Access.

Step number two: using Guided Access. Launch the app that you want to lock down and then triple click your home button. This will bring up the Guided Access menu. Here you will see the three options that you can enable or disable on the iPad. Once you have the settings set up the way you want, them tap Save in the upper right corner. If you didn’t set a passcode, you’ll be prompted to enter it.

Your iOS device will now be locked into that app. To get out, triple-click the home button and enter your passcode, then tap End in the upper left of your screen.