You can indeed do just that as of iOS 18. In fact, one of the least hyped features added with iOS 18 is this ability to lock down individual applications on the iPhone and iPad. On a modern device set up with facial recognition, it’ll rely on Face ID but it can also work with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Don’t have either set up? It’ll prompt for the device passcode before launching the app you’ve protected.
Worried about the privacy of your biometrics? That information never leaves your phone and is encrypted. Just like modern password systems, new scans are converted into encrypted data, then compared to a mathematical feature map built from the original scan. If they match, it’s a go. In all cases, the raw scan is never stored, either on your device or in the cloud.
Shortcuts: Enable | Find the App Icon | Require Face ID / Touch ID | Using a Locked App
I’m a big fan of regional coffee chain Ziggi’s Coffee and just today decided to add money to my app so I can pay directly, without having to pull cash or a credit card out of my wallet. Seems like a great time to lock down the app too, just in case someone grabbed it – like one of my kids! – and wanted to buy a dozen of their burritos or something. Here’s how I did it…
STEP ZERO: UPDATE & ENABLE
Before we proceed, you’ll want to ensure that your iPhone or iPad has the very latest version of iOS (or iPadOS) running. Check for an update in Settings > General > Software Update. You’ll also need to enable the appropriate biometrics for your device. That’s also found in Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or, if you’re using a device with a fingerprint sensor, Touch ID & Passcode):
As you can see, I have everything enabled and 27 of the apps on my device, like Amazon, Electrify America, MoviePass, and Zoom, also utilize Face ID or Passcode protection.
Your device ready to go?
FIND THE APP ICON
The first step with this task is to find the app icon on whatever screen or folder it’s stored. This can be a bit of a chore if you have a lot of apps, so keep swiping left, screen after screen, until you get to the All Apps view. Then swipe down – or use the alphabetical index shortcut on the right edge – to find the app desired. For me, it’s “Ziggi’sCoffee“:
That’s good enough. Now, tap and hold on the app icon and a tiny menu appears:
The first three entries are iOS and are the same for every application. Some apps have what are known as App Shortcuts that let you jump directly into a specific section of the app. Ziggi’s has that with “Pay In Stores” and “Order Ahead”. The entry desired, however, is the second options.
REQUIRE FACE ID
It’s surprisingly easy to set up. Choose “Require Face ID” and you’ll get a secondary menu:
The second option is quite interesting if you really want to hide an app from your children. It no longer appears on any home screen, nor in the All Apps view. The only way to launch it would be to search for that app, and then it’s going to require Face ID (or Touch ID) to actually launch. My kids never touch my iPhone – because they have their own! – so I’m just going to tap on “Require Face ID” to proceed.
Done.
That’s it. Easy, right?
USING A FACE ID-LOCKED IPHONE APP
Now every time the app is launched it requires a Face ID match. It’s even obscured in the running apps view aka the App Switcher:
It’s hard to read, but it says “Face ID Required to launch Ziggi’sCoffee”.
Once I do let the selfie camera scan my face, the app unlocks and I’m ready to go in less than a second:
Pretty darn easy, right? Well done, Apple.
If you’re curious, Android does not have a corresponding per-app locking system that’s universally available. A lot of OEMS – like Samsung, OnePlus and Xiaomi (“show me”) add this feature on top of Android, but app developers can use underlying security features to implement this directly. Maybe in Android 16?
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about the iPhone extensively since the release of the iPhone 1, please check out my iPhone help area while you’re here!
