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How to lock an app with Face ID on iPhone

Touch and hold the app icon, tap Require Face ID, then choose Lock. Pick Hide and Require Face ID instead to take it off the Home Screen.

How to do it

  1. Touch and hold the app icon until the menu appears.

  2. Tap Require Face ID, or Require Touch ID on older hardware.

  3. Choose Lock to keep the icon but demand authentication, or Hide and Require Face ID to remove it from the Home Screen.

  4. Open a hidden app from the App Library, in the Hidden folder, at the bottom.

If Require Face ID is not in the menu, the phone is on an iOS older than 18, or the app does not support the lock. Mail and a few system apps are limited. If you hide an app, remember the App Library is where it went.

Questions people ask

Where do hidden apps go?

Into a Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. It opens with Face ID.

Why don't I see Require Face ID?

The iPhone needs iOS 18 or later, and some system apps can't be locked.

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