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Parenting Guides

How to lock your tablet screen for kids

Keep curious little fingers from exiting apps, deleting files, or accidentally turning pages.

Whether you are reading a bedtime story or putting on a movie for a long road trip, there is nothing more frustrating than a toddler accidentally swiping out of an app. Fortunately, both Apple and Android tablets have built-in features to lock the screen to a single app.

Here is how to set up Apple's Guided Access and Android's Screen Pinning.

How to lock an iPad (Guided Access)

  1. 1. Enable Guided Access in Settings

    Open your iPad or iPhone Settings. Go to Accessibility > Guided Access and toggle it on. Tap 'Passcode Settings' to set a PIN that you will remember, or enable Face ID / Touch ID.

  2. 2. Lock the app

    Open the app you want your child to use. Triple-click the Home button (or the Top/Side button on newer iPads without a Home button). The Guided Access menu will appear. Tap 'Start' in the top right corner.

  3. 3. Prevent accidental screen taps (Optional)

    If you want to stop your toddler from touching the screen entirely, triple-click again to open the menu, tap 'Options' in the bottom left, and turn off 'Touch'. Then resume.

How to lock an Android tablet (Screen Pinning)

  1. 1. Turn on Screen Pinning

    Open your Android Settings. Go to Security & Privacy > Advanced > App Pinning (or search for 'Pin Windows' depending on your manufacturer). Toggle it on and require a PIN to unpin.

  2. 2. Pin the app

    Open the app you want to lock. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen and hold (or tap the Recents square button) to open your recent apps view. Tap the app's icon at the top of its card and select 'Pin'.

  3. 3. Unpin when finished

    To unlock the tablet, press and hold the Back and Recents buttons simultaneously (or swipe up and hold, depending on your navigation settings). You will need to enter your PIN to exit.

Looking for a reader that handles this automatically?

Standard apps still let kids turn pages accidentally even when locked. No The End is a privacy-first kids reader that integrates with these OS locks while also using smart touch-resistance to ignore accidental screen swipes.

Learn more about No The End