How can I lend my iPhone for a few hours without sharing texts/photos?

February 2, 2024 5:23 PM

For reasons, I'll be hosting a friend tomorrow who does not have access to their phone. I'd like to give them mine to use in private, and although I doubt they'd snoop, I don't want them going through my email/photos/texts. Is there a way to activate a guest mode? Thanks!
posted by cyndigo to Technology (4 answers total)

Best answer: On iPhone, this is called Guided Access.

You can lock your phone to the Phone app and disable the touch area on the bottom. That should do it.
posted by JoeZydeco at 5:37 PM on February 2, 2024 [1 favorite]

Guided access might work, but it might also make it impossible to turn off the phone. I'd recommend using Screen Time controls, which let you turn off access to particular apps, or turn off access to all apps except for the few that you choose (like the phone app).
posted by Winnie the Proust at 5:49 PM on February 2, 2024 [1 favorite]

The nuclear option would be to return to factory settings, then restore to your most recent backup after your friend has finished.
posted by rd45 at 2:15 AM on February 3, 2024 [1 favorite]

Instead of Guided Access, I'll recommend Assistive Access which is similar but allows you to choose whatever apps you wish and it's impossible to get out of (even with a reboot) without a passcode. You enable it and just exclude any apps you want to keep private.

I've used it to turn some of my friends' phones into dumbphones by removing all distractive apps and social media and excluding the App Store — and then not telling them the password.
posted by dobbs at 2:40 PM on February 3, 2024 [1 favorite]