Idea For Controlled Access Manager

By Doug, 1 February, 2014

Forum
App Development and Programming
I have for some time been looking for a controlled access manager for my IPhone. What I have in mind is an app which will accumulate info on all apps and related material on my phone, then allow me toeither select, or deselect, those apps which I do not wish other folks to access. I use my IPhone to create shopping lists for grocers and such. Often, I will want to stop off at the dli and the store clerk who is helping me is tied up waiting for me to get my order filled, waisting there work time. If I were able to have some method of locking any access to my phone other than my grocery list, I would be a lot happier about them having the phone to get other goods on my list while I am on my deli duty. Any ideas? Perhaps there is something out there I don't know about in the hundreds of thousands of available aps. Of course, it must be fully voiceover compliant.

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Comments

By Michael Hansen on Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 08:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Doug, I'm not sure how well this would work, but perhaps the Guided Access feature would work for these types of situations? I've never played with Guided Access before, but I was under the impression that the purpose of this feature was to lock the device into one app and one app only. While the feature is mainly meant for applications in the educational sector, I think it might work here if it's usable with VoiceOver.

By Scott Davert on Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 08:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
You could use guided access for this functionality and type your list up in the notes app. And there's always that silly old thing called a printer, if you have access to one. I'd recommend that over handing someone my iPhone, they could walk off with it, or accidentally drop it.

Thanks to both Michael and Scott for helpful suggestions. I'll check out the app. As for handing my IPhone around and having it permanently vanish, it is not impossible though highly unlikely. Further, if the potential thiever locks the phone, the pass code and "find my phone"should be of some assistance. I shop alone and most of the folks in the food stores I frequent know me. I certainly wouldn't be passing my phone to strangers. Further, I haven't owned a printer for at least 10 years since I closed my business and using it for at most 20 pages per year (and that's probably a generous estimate) doesn't justify any kind of expense, including dried out cartridges from lack of use.

By Eileen on Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 08:35

A non technological solution would be to go to the deli either before or after you engage the sighted assistance.

Hi Doug. I'd agree that Guided Access is probably your best option. It's not an app, but rather it's an accessibility feature. Go to Settings>General>Accessibility>GuidedAccess and switch it on. You'll also want to set a passcode in the settings panel for the feature. Be aware that it does involve using the triple-click-home which most of us usually use only to toggle VoiceOver. Go to the app with your shopping list. Triple-click the home button and select Guided Access. It will offer you the opportunity to draw circles around sections of the app you wish to restrict, which you can ignore as it's not accessible anyway. Simply select the Start button at the top of the screen and the phone will be locked in that app. You'll notice that pressing the home button will have no effect. To exit Guided Access and exit the app, you will need to triple-click the home button again, select Guided Access again and type in the passcode you created earlier. Hope that helps, it's really a lot easier than I may have made it sound :) Alternatively, if you have a jailbroken device, there are tweaks that will allow you to passcode protect or fingerprint protect individual apps. Best of luck.

By Isaac Hebert (not verified) on Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 08:35

Yes guided access is you're best option.