iOS 18 adds this great feature that uses Face ID to lock your apps and hide them from others too

One of the features that was available to me as an iPhone user with the iOS 18.1 Developer Beta will also be available to non-beta members when the stable version of iOS18 will launch next month. This feature will let you lock an app behind Face ID. That should make you feel more secure. And to take that protection to the next level, you can hide the app icon so it doesn’t appear on your home screen.

Here’s how it works: Choose an app you want to protect. Ideally, you’ll choose a banking app or an app you want to protect with your face, such as a stock trading or investment app. There’s no limit to the number of apps you can protect with this feature. On the home screen, long-press the icon of the app you want to lock with Face ID. You’ll see the option “Require Face ID.” Select that option and you’ll see a prompt with three choices:

Face ID required
Hide and request Face ID
Cancel

Tap “Require Face ID” and the facial recognition feature will prevent anyone but you from accessing the app on your phone. Think of Face ID like a bouncer who requires you to show a valid ID (in this case, your face) before you can use the app.

Protect your personal data by requiring Face ID to open your apps and hiding the icon on the home screen. | Image credit: PhoneArena

The Hide and Request Face ID feature not only uses the big, burly bouncer on the velvet rope to decide whether to let you in (that’s Face ID, of course), but it also hides the app icon from the home screen and moves it to the Hidden Apps folder in the App Library, where it will stay hidden until Face ID verifies your identity and displays the icon in the folder. Just keep in mind that if you hide the app icon, you’ll stop getting notifications, calls, and alerts from that app. It won’t appear in Siri suggestions, either.

If you have an app protected by Face ID and want to stop protecting it, long-press the app icon on the Home screen and tap “Face ID not required.” You will no longer need to verify your identity with Face ID to open the app. If you have an app protected by Face ID and hidden, go to the App Library on the last page of the Home screen. Tap the Hidden folder. Face ID will then verify your identity and show all the apps you have protected and hidden with Face ID.

To undo this, long-press the relevant app icon and select “Add to Home Screen.” You will be asked to confirm this action. Look for the app icon on the Home screen and you should be able to access the app without using Face ID. In other words, tapping the “Add to Home Screen” option will not only make the app icon visible again, but the app will no longer be protected by Face ID.

If you share your phone with others or it is temporarily unused, using this feature to protect sensitive apps can protect you from a malicious actor accessing those apps without your permission or knowledge. Remember that the feature is not available until you iOS18 on your iPhone. This should happen in a few weeks. If you can’t wait, you can iOS18 Beta. And if you own an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, you can install iOS18.1 Developer Beta, which includes the Apple Intelligence Beta and gives you a taste of Apple’s AI initiative called Apple Intelligence.

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