How to lock an app for a specific amount of time in iPhone

There are a few steps you can follow to lock an app for a specific amount of time on your iPhone. According to the search results¹², you need to:

- Go to **Settings > Screen Time** and turn on Screen Time if you haven't already.
- Tap **App Limits > Add Limit** and select the app or category of apps you want to restrict access to.
- Choose a **time limit** for the use of that app or category (such as 1 hour) and tap **Add**. You can also customize the limit for different days of the week by tapping **Customize Days**.
- Go back to **Screen Time** and set a **Screen Time passcode** that you will need to enter when you reach the limit.

Once you have set up the app limit, you will see a notification when you have only 5 minutes left. When you reach the limit, the app will be locked and you will need to enter your Screen Time passcode to access it again. You can also ask for more time by tapping **Ask For More Time** and selecting **One More Minute** or **15 More Minutes**, but this will only work once per day²³.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/25/2023
(1) How to Lock Apps on Any iPhone - Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/lock-apps-on-iphone-4164864.
(2) How to Set an App Time Limit on iPhone and iPad. https://www.howtogeek.com/401467/how-to-set-an-app-time-limit-on-iphone-and-ipad/.
(3) How to Temporarily Lock Apps on iPhone with Screen Time. https://www.howtogeek.com/720506/how-to-temporarily-lock-apps-on-iphone-with-screen-time/.
(4) How to Lock Apps on Your iPhone With a Passcode - Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/how-to-lock-apps-on-iphone.
(5) How to Lock Apps on Your iPhone With a Password, Face ID, and More - MUO. https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-lock-apps-on-iphone/.

There is another way to lock an app with a password on your iPhone, but it's not very convenient. You can use the **Guided Access** feature, which lets you restrict access to a single app and disable parts of the screen or buttons¹³. To use this feature, you need to:

- Go to **Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access** and turn it on.
- Tap **Passcode Settings > Set Guided Access Passcode** and enter a new passcode. You can also toggle on **Face ID** or **Touch ID** to use a biometric password¹.
- Open the app you want to lock and press the side button or the home button three times to start Guided Access.
- You can draw circles around the areas of the screen you want to disable, or tap **Options** to disable other features like volume buttons or touch screen. You can also set a time limit for the session.
- To end Guided Access, press the side button or the home button three times again and enter your passcode or use Face ID or Touch ID.

The downside of this method is that you can only lock one app at a time, and you have to start Guided Access every time you want to use it. It's more suitable for temporary situations where you want to prevent someone from leaving an app or accessing certain functions¹³.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/25/2023
(1) How to Lock Apps on Your iPhone With a Password, Face ID, and More - MUO. https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-lock-apps-on-iphone/.
(2) How to Lock Apps on Any iPhone - Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/lock-apps-on-iphone-4164864.
(3) How to Passcode Lock an App on iPhone - MacRumors. https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/passcode-lock-app/.