Guided Access on Apple devices and App pinning on Android temporarily lock a device to a single app, but business deployments require more scalable management.
Guided Access provides granular controls over touch, hardware buttons, keyboard, motion and session duration.
Android App pinning offers similar single-app lockdown with fewer device controls.
For larger corporate deployments, UEM solutions like Hexnode provide Single and Multi App lockdown with centralized device management.</li>
Have you ever wondered if you could lock your phone down to just one app? Maybe you did, especially when you are required to pass your phone to someone for a quick moment, or when you had to hand it to your toddler as they just won’t shut up. Well then, the Guided Access feature is something that you will like. Using this you could do exactly what I just mentioned. Actually, the term “Guided Access” is the feature for Apple devices but there is an Android counterpart too (as expected) by the name, App pinning.
Let’s see what all you can do with the guided access feature in iOS
Guided Access
As I mentioned it temporarily restricts the device to a single app of your choice and for that period you can’t use any other app until you end the mode. To set this up you need to go
Settings > Accessibility and then turn on Guided Access.
Set the Guided Access Passcode by tapping on Passcode Settings.
If needed, set up Touch ID or Face ID for authentication to end the Guided Access mode.
To turn the mode ON, you have to tap the Side button (for Face ID phones) or the Home Button (for non-Face ID phones) three times in the app you want.
It comes with so many more features that help control the device’s abilities even more. You get to disable
Sleep/wake buttons (can’t make the device go to sleep or wake up when these are disabled)
Volume buttons (can’t control the volume using buttons)
Motion (which locks the screen in portrait or landscape)
Keyboard (can’t open the keyboard)
Touch (Disables the touch entirely)
Disable specific areas of the screen
You don’t have to disable touch for the entire screen either. Guided Access lets you circle specific areas of the screen that you don’t want the user interacting with. Those selected areas simply stop responding to touch during the session.
This comes in handy when an app has a settings button, navigation menu or any other option you don’t want someone pressing. For example, if you are displaying a webpage, you could disable the address bar while leaving the rest of the page usable.
You can move or resize these restricted areas before starting the Guided Access session, giving you a little more control than simply turning touch on or off for the entire app.
On top of this, you could also set a time limit. Users just see a black screen after that limit and of course only until the mode is disabled or ended. lass=”yoast-text-mark” />>To end the mode, triple-click the Home Button or Side Button, the same way as entering in, and enter the passcode. You get to choose between Resuming or Ending the mode. I believe you know which one to choose.
Triple-click also has another function. You can also use it to select the specific control options. After the triple-click, in the bottom left corner, you can select features that you want to enable or disable.
I almost forgot to mention that this feature is not for iOS users alone. It is available for iPadOS and iPod Touch. Isn’t that neat?
Guided Access is fairly straightforward, but every once in a while that triple-click might not do what you expect.
If the shortcut doesn’t bring up Guided Access, first check that you’ve enabled it under Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access. If you’ve configured multiple accessibility shortcuts, triple-clicking the button may open the Accessibility Shortcuts panel, where you can select Guided Access.
It is also worth checking whether you are pressing the correct button. Current iPhones use the Side button, while older devices with a Home button use that instead. On supported iPads, the shortcut can use the top button.
If a particular app behaves unexpectedly after you start the session, check the touch regions and session settings you configured. Restrictions such as disabling touch, the keyboard, motion or hardware buttons can naturally change how the app responds, so testing the exact setup before handing over the device is always a good idea.
App pinning
Coming to the Android side of things, we have here what is called the Screen/ App pinning. It is similar to Guided Access but a bit less elaborate in terms of features you get to control about your device. You can pin any app to the screen by tapping the Recent apps button on the bottom and long-pressing the app that you want to pin. In some Android phones instead of a long press, you might need to click on the options button.
Before doing that, make sure you have turned on the App pinning on your phone, you can do this by navigating to Settings > Security & Lock screen > App pinning. Android tends to mess around with settings with each OS update. So, in case you didn’t find it there, you can just search for “App pinning” in the search bar. Keep in mind that as of Android 11, this feature only works when you use the 3-button navigation bar as opposed to any other form of gesture. I know it is a bit of a bummer but that’s what we have to deal with.
When you successfully pin the app, you will observe that you can’t close the app or even check the notifications. Android doesn’t have the control features so, everything like buttons, keyboard, etc. still works. To unpin the app, you need to tap and hold the Back button and the Recent apps button simultaneously. If you enabled the option to use the device password to end while setting up, it takes you to the lock screen after holding those two buttons. Upon successful unlocking, you will see it is out of the App pinning mode. Unlike iOS, you don’t necessarily need to have a passcode or a pin. When the option for using device PIN is not enabled, doing the same action takes you back to the Home Screen.
Ensure kids use only the intended apps
Use cases
There are a lot more use cases that you might have not even thought of using an app lockdown. Some of them are
Students and Exams:
Teachers can restrict the school devices for the sake of tests. This helps them make the exams fair for all students while also taking strides towards digitalization. Or if you are the student, you could use it to keep the distractions away and solely concentrate on that deadline.
Gaming:
After all those exams you might decide to play some mobile games for a while and relax. Locking devices to just that one app will have many benefits
You don’t need to be interrupted by notifications or phone calls
Can’t let the ads force you out of the game
You can prevent accidental button presses and game exits
If you’re a parent, you can make sure that your kid is not going through other apps. You can also limit the time your kid spends playing it (only for the Guided Access).
Simple kiosk for businesses:
Let’s say you run a small boutique business and you need an e-interface like an iPad to show your customers all the products or services you offer and maybe take their contact information through it. You might already have an app developed exactly for that but how could you stop them from tinkering with all other apps and stuff? Restricting the device usage through app lockdown works perfectly for this scenario.
Where Guided Access falls short for businesses
Guided Access can work pretty well when you just need to temporarily keep one iPhone or iPad inside an app. Things become a little different when a business has tens, hundreds or even thousands of devices to take care of.
Guided Access is a local, session-based feature. It does not give IT teams centralized device management, application deployment, inventory management or remote security controls across a fleet of devices.
That distinction becomes important for devices used as permanent kiosks, point-of-sale systems, digital signage or dedicated work devices. In those cases, manually configuring and maintaining every device soon becomes impractical.
This is where a UEM or MDM solution makes more sense. Instead of treating app lockdown as a temporary session on an individual device, IT teams can manage dedicated devices as part of a broader organizational deployment.
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A similar feature is used in many more ways in corporate settings in which case using a UEM solution like Hexnode is a lot beneficial. They offer many more features like Single or Multi app lockdown with granular control over the device’s abilities. To see how Guided Access differs from alternative restrictions, compare iOS app lockdown modes to choose the right fit for your devices.
FAQ
What is the difference between Guided Access and kiosk mode?
Guided Access is a local, temporary way to restrict an A
pple device to a single app. Kiosk mode through a UEM or MDM solution is better suited to centrally managing dedicated devices across an organizational deployment.
Can Guided Access be managed remotely across multiple iPhones or iPads?
No, Guided Access does not provide centralized managemen
t across a fleet of devices. Businesses managing many dedicated devices can instead use a UEM or MDM solution for centralized device controls.
Is Android App pinning the same as Apple Guided Access?
No, although both can keep a d
evice restricted to one app. Guided Access provides additional controls for functions such as touch, the keyboard, motion and hardware buttons, while Android App pinning offers fewer controls.
Can Guided Access block only part of an iPhone or iPad screen?
Yes, Guided Access can prevent touch input within selected areas of the screen while leav
ing other areas interactive. The restricted areas can also be moved or resized before starting the session.
Is Guided Access suitable for business kiosk devices?
Guided Access can work for temporarily restricting an individua
l iPhone or iPad to one app. For permanent kiosks, point-of-sale systems, digital signage or larger device fleets, centralized UEM or MDM management is more practical.
Can Hexnode lock devices to more than one app?
Yes, the draft states that Hexnode supports both Single
App and Multi App lockdown. This gives organizations an option for restricting corporate devices to one or multiple approved apps.
