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How to Lock Safari on iPhone and iPad with Face ID (2026)

To lock Safari on iPhone, touch and hold the Safari icon on your Home Screen, tap Require Face ID, then tap Require Face ID again. From then on, Safari asks for Face ID (or your passcode) every time you open it. This works on iOS 18 and later, and the same steps work on iPad with Face ID or Touch ID. If you only want to protect private tabs, Safari has a separate setting for that, covered below.

This guide covers both locks, how they behave, how to turn them off, what to do on older iOS versions, and what a lock doesn't protect.

Two ways to lock Safari

  • Lock the whole app: the Home Screen Require Face ID option. Every tab, your history and your bookmarks sit behind Face ID.
  • Lock only private tabs: Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing in Safari's settings. Normal tabs open as usual, but private tabs need Face ID.

Pick the first if you hand your phone to other people and don't want them in your browser at all. Pick the second if you only care about the tabs you opened in Private Browsing. You can use both at once.

How to lock Safari with Face ID (iOS 18 and later)

  1. Go to your Home Screen and find the Safari icon.
  2. Touch and hold the icon until the quick actions menu opens.
  3. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID or Require Passcode, depending on your device).
  4. In the next menu, tap Require Face ID to confirm.

If Safari isn't on your Home Screen, swipe left past your last page to App Library, find Safari, and touch and hold it there.

Why there's no "Hide" option for Safari

Apple lets you lock any app, but you can only hide apps you downloaded from the App Store. Apps that come installed on your iPhone, like Safari, Messages and Photos, can't be hidden. Neither can whatever app you've set as your default browser. So for Safari you'll see the lock option, but not Hide and Require Face ID.

What happens when Safari is locked

  • Opening Safari shows a blank screen and a Face ID check. If Face ID fails, you can enter your iPhone passcode instead.
  • The app switcher shows Safari blurred, so nobody can see your last page by swiping up.
  • Search, Siri suggestions and notification previews leave out content from Safari, so your pages don't pop up in Spotlight results or suggestions.
  • Unlocking is temporary. Safari locks again after you leave it, so you'll need Face ID the next time.
  • The lock stays on this device. Locking Safari on your iPhone doesn't lock it on your iPad or Mac.

Apple's guide has the full details: Lock or hide an app on iPhone.

How to lock Safari private browsing with Face ID

Since iOS 17, Safari can lock your private tabs while leaving normal tabs open. Private tabs stay open in the background, but you need Face ID to see them again.

  1. Open Settings → Apps → Safari.
  2. Scroll down to Privacy & Security.
  3. Turn on Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing (it says Touch ID or Passcode on devices without Face ID).

On iOS 17, go to Settings → Safari instead. If you don't see the option, check that your iPhone has a passcode set in Settings → Face ID & Passcode.

Private tabs lock when:

  • your iPhone locks or goes to sleep
  • Safari isn't in the foreground
  • you switch from Private Browsing back to normal tabs

Two exceptions from Apple: private tabs don't lock if you haven't loaded a page, or while audio or video is playing. To open them again, tap the Tabs button, swipe to Private Browsing, and tap Unlock. For more on what private mode does and doesn't hide, see private browsing on iPhone.

Locking Safari on iPad

The steps are the same on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later: touch and hold Safari on the Home Screen and tap Require Face ID or Require Touch ID, depending on your model. iPad Pro models with Face ID use your face; most other iPads use the Touch ID sensor in the top button or Home button.

The private browsing lock lives in the same place too: Settings → Apps → Safari, under Privacy & Security. Locks are set per device, so lock Safari on your iPad separately even if it's already locked on your iPhone.

How to turn off the Safari lock

  1. Touch and hold the Safari icon on the Home Screen.
  2. Tap Don't Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
  3. Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.

To stop locking private tabs, go to Settings → Apps → Safari and turn off Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing. If Safari keeps asking for Face ID after you've turned off one lock, the other one is probably still on.

Older iOS: Screen Time and Guided Access

Before iOS 18 there was no Face ID lock for apps. If your iPhone can't update, these built-in workarounds still help, though neither uses Face ID to open Safari.

Screen Time app limit

  1. Go to Settings → Screen Time and turn it on if needed. Set a Screen Time passcode that's different from your iPhone passcode.
  2. Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
  3. Search for Safari and select it, then tap Next.
  4. Set the limit to 1 minute and make sure Block at End of Limit is on.

After a minute of use each day, Safari shows a time limit screen that needs the Screen Time passcode. It's clumsy, since you get one free minute a day, but it keeps casual snoopers out.

Guided Access

Guided Access works the other way around: it locks your iPhone into one app, so someone you hand your phone to can't leave it to open Safari. Turn it on in Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access, set a passcode, then open the app you want to share and triple-click the side button (or the Home button on older iPhones) to start. Triple-click again and authenticate to end the session.

What a Safari lock doesn't protect

Your history on other devices

If iCloud sync for Safari is on, your history, open tabs and bookmarks also appear on your iPad and Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. Locking Safari on your iPhone does nothing there. To stop syncing, go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → See All and turn off Safari, or lock Safari on each device. Private tabs are never shared with your other devices.

Anyone who knows your passcode

Every Face ID lock on iPhone falls back to your device passcode. If a partner, child or friend knows it, they can open locked Safari too. Change your passcode in Settings → Face ID & Passcode if you're not sure who has it.

What websites and your network see

A lock only stops people holding your phone. It doesn't hide your browsing from websites, advertisers or your Wi-Fi network. For that, look at how to stop websites tracking you on iPhone.

A browser with its own lock: Kipzy

If you'd rather use a browser that locks itself, Kipzy has its own locks built in. They're free, and they work on any iOS version Kipzy supports, not just iOS 18. Open Kipzy's Settings → Privacy & Security:

  • Lock app with Face ID locks all of Kipzy: tabs, history and downloads.
  • Lock private tabs with Face ID leaves normal browsing open and locks only your private tabs, much like Safari's private browsing lock.

Kipzy also blocks ads and trackers for free and can save videos to watch offline. With Kipzy Pro, you can long-press a saved video in Downloads and choose Move to Private to keep it in a Face ID folder. See how to hide videos on iPhone for more on that. Kipzy is iPhone only and has no account or sync, so your history stays on your iPhone.

Common questions

Can you put a password on Safari?

Not a separate one. Safari's lock uses Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode. If you want a password only you know, a Screen Time app limit with its own Screen Time passcode is the closest built-in option.

Why can't I hide Safari on my iPhone?

Apple only lets you hide apps downloaded from the App Store. Safari comes with iOS, so you can lock it, but the Hide and Require Face ID option doesn't appear.

Why don't I see "Require Face ID" when I hold the Safari icon?

App locking needs iOS 18 or later and a passcode on your iPhone. Update in Settings → General → Software Update, and set a passcode in Settings → Face ID & Passcode. Children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can't lock apps.

Does locking Safari delete my history or tabs?

No. Everything stays as it was. The lock just asks for Face ID before showing it, and turning the lock off brings things back exactly as they were.

Why does Safari keep asking for Face ID?

Either the app lock or the private browsing lock is on. Touch and hold the Safari icon to check for Don't Require Face ID, and check Settings → Apps → Safari for Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing. Turn off whichever one you don't want.

Can I lock Chrome or other browsers the same way?

Yes. The Home Screen lock works on any app, and browsers you downloaded from the App Store can also be hidden, unless one is set as your default browser. Many browsers also have their own lock for private tabs.

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