Does iPhone Have a Guest Mode? What to Use Instead
No. An iPhone has one user, and anyone you hand it to while it is unlocked sees what you see. iOS has two tools that come close without an app: Guided Access keeps the phone in one app, and on iOS 18 and later you can lock or hide individual apps.
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What do I need to know?
- There is no second profile. Photos, Messages and Mail belong to the one person signed in.
- Guided Access is the closest thing. It keeps the phone inside a single app until you end the session.
- Locked apps need Face ID or the passcode. If the guest knows your passcode, a locked app opens for them.
Which option should I use?
- A child playing a game: Guided Access.
- A friend borrowing it for a call or a map: lock the apps you care about.
- Someone who might ask to see your photos: keep private ones out of the Photos library.
How do I use Guided Access?
Apple: "With Guided Access, you can temporarily restrict your device to a single app." Steps for iOS 27:
- Open Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access and turn it on.
- Set a Guided Access passcode. Make it different from your phone passcode.
- Open the app you want to lend.
- Triple-click the side button, then tap Start.
- To end it, triple-click again, authenticate, then tap End.
You can also set a time limit and turn off parts of the screen. Apple's Guided Access page has the details.
How do I lock or hide an app?
This needs iOS 18 or later.
- Touch and hold the app icon on the Home Screen.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
- Tap it again and authenticate.
To hide an app instead, after step 2 tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, then tap Hide App. Apple says only apps you downloaded can be hidden, not the ones that came with the phone.
Apple notes that information in a locked app won't appear "in notification previews, search, Siri suggestions, or your call history." Some built-in apps cannot be locked, including Camera, Contacts, Maps and Settings. See Apple's lock or hide apps guide.
Can I lock the Photos app?
Check on your own phone. Touch and hold the Photos icon: if Require Face ID appears, it can be locked. Apple's list of built-in apps that cannot be locked includes Camera, so a guest can still open the camera.
Locking hides nothing from someone who knows your passcode. Our page on whether someone with your passcode can see your photos covers what a passcode opens.
What this doesn't protect against
None of these tools help if the other person knows your passcode. Guided Access ends for anyone who knows its passcode. A locked or hidden app status stays on that one phone and does not sync to your other devices. A vault cannot help if someone watches you draw your pattern.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile keeps private photos and videos out of the Photos library. They are encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a key from your pattern, not your passcode. A different pattern opens a different vault, so a decoy vault can show harmless photos to anyone who asks. Our lending your phone page walks through a real loan.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus adds search inside the vault and the panic pattern for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.