Easiest Way to Lock Apps on Your iPhone with Touch ID (2018)

By Abbey Dufoe updated on 10/16/2018

How to Lock Apps on Your iPhone with Touch ID

Enabling Touch ID for use in apps means you can lock apps with your fingerprint on iPhone. Touch ID for apps allow you to lock apps on your iPad or iPhone in order to protect sensitive information such as private documents or personal finance information, instead of setting a password for an app that you might forget. However, other apps such as Facebook don’t allow you to use Touch ID to lock the app. Whether or not an app uses Touch ID depends on the developer and how they intend you use the app. Once you have Touch ID enabled on your iPhone, you can use your fingerprint to open the Touch ID apps of your choosing. We’ll go over how to set up Touch ID apps below. We’ll also cover which popular apps are Touch ID apps and which ones offer fingerprint lock. And since setting up fingerprint lock on your iPhone often requires a passcode, we'll also cover how to put a password on apps. Here’s how to lock apps on iPhone.

Setting up Touch ID on iPhone takes a little time but the reward is definitely worth it. From using Touch ID to pay for purchases on iPhone to locking apps and using Touch ID to unlock them—there are a ton of functions beyond simply unlocking your iPhone with Touch ID. Whether you have an iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, or iPhone 6, Touch ID can help you learn how to lock apps on your device. While lots of apps allow you to use Touch ID to lock apps, there are still plenty that don't as well. Regardless, the tips in this article are essential for any iPhone user with Touch ID.

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How to Lock Apps on iPhone

Table of Contents

How to Turn on Touch ID on Your iPhone or iPad
How to Enable Touch ID for Apps
How to Enable Touch ID for Apple Notes
How to Make Sure Your Protected Apps Are Really Private
Best Touch ID Apps

How to Turn on Touch ID on Your iPhone or iPad

If you use your fingerprint scanner to unlock your iPhone or iPad, you already have Touch ID enabled. If not, to turn on Touch ID:

Go to Settings.
Select Touch ID & Password.
Enter your password to continue.
Turn Touch ID on for any or all of the following: iPhone Unlock, Apple Pay (for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus or later), and iTunes & App Store.

If you are setting Touch ID up for the first time, follow the instructions on your screen to enroll fingerprints.

How to Enable Touch ID for Apps

Now, to lock apps with your fingerprint, you will need to enable Touch ID within the app you want to use. I’ll use the app Mint as an example. Regardless of the Touch ID app you want to enable fingerprint app lock for, the ability to turn it on will most likely be found in the settings of that app. To set up Touch ID in an app and put a password on the app:

Open the app and navigate to Settings.
Tap Passcode & Touch ID, or something similar depending on the app.
Enable the Passcode setting and choose a passcode.

Then toggle on Touch ID. You may have to re-enter your passcode.

Now you can use your fingerprint instead of a password to unlock the app. Just place your thumb (or whatever finger you've enrolled in Touch ID) on the home button to use Touch ID.

How to Enable Touch ID for Apple Notes

The Notes app is finally able to be protected with Touch ID. This allows you to use the Notes app to its fullest while feeling secure that just anybody can’t view what you’ve written. To enable Touch ID for the Notes app, you have to enable it within your iPhone's Settings. To do this:

Open the Settings app and tap Notes.
Tap Password. You’ll be prompted to create a password with a Hint.

Toggle on Use Touch ID.

With the Notes app, not all notes are automatically locked. You must choose which notes you want to lock. To lock a note on iPhone:

Open the Notes app.
Create a new note or navigate to one you want to lock.
In the upper right corner, tap the Share icon.
Tap Lock Note.

Once a lock has been added, you still need to tap the lock icon at the top of the screen to officially lock the note.

You can also exit that specific note, return to your list of notes, and tap Lock Now at the bottom of the screen to lock all of your unlocked notes at once.

How to Make Sure Your Protected Apps Are Really Private

For some reason, locking an app on your iPhone (and all the sensitive information that app contains) doesn't always prevent that app from displaying that same private information in the Widget screen on your iPhone. If you've protected apps on your iPhone with Touch ID, but those apps have widgets, you'll need to disable those apps' widgets in order to prevent your journal entries or other private information from appearing there. Here's how to make sure your protected apps are really private:

Swipe left from the first Home screen to open the Widget screen.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Edit
Tap the red circle to the left of the app name and then tap Remove to confirm. Repeat for any other apps whose widgets you don't want to see. Tap Done when you are finished.

Best Apps That Use Touch ID

What are your favorite apps that use Touch ID? Let us know in the comments!

Dropbox
Some banking apps
1password
Dashlane
Evernote Premium
Mint
Day One Journal
Momento
Memoir
Amazon
Document 5
Scanner Pro
Paypal
eHarmony
Google

Apps We Wish Had Touch ID:

Wouldn't it be great if you could enable fingerprint app lock for any app on your iPhone or iPad from within your device's own settings? In the meantime, we'd settle for being able to lock Facebook, Photos, and other apps with our fingerprints.