What can someone do with your locked iPhone? How to limit Lock Screen access

Apple lets you choose which features are reachable from the Lock Screen. According to Apple's iPhone User Guide, the list includes widgets, Notification Center, Control Center, Siri, replying to messages, Home Control, Wallet and returning missed calls, plus connecting to a computer or accessory over USB.

Most of these are on by default because they are convenient: you can check the weather, answer a message or pay with a card without unlocking. The trade-off, as Apple puts it, is that turning a feature off stops someone who has your iPhone from seeing personal information in it, but also takes away your own quick access.

Which items you see depends on the iOS version and the iPhone model. If a switch below is missing on your phone, your version does not offer it.

1. 1Open Settings and tap Face ID & Passcode (on an iPhone with a Home button, Touch ID & Passcode).
2. 2Enter your passcode.
3. 3Scroll down to Allow Access When Locked.
4. 4Switch off the items you do not want: for example Lock Screen widgets if they show calendar or message text, Control Center if you do not want strangers toggling Wi-Fi or Airplane Mode, and Wallet if you do not need tap-to-pay from the Lock Screen.

Think about each switch before turning it off. Control Center from the Lock Screen is how many people turn on Airplane Mode or the flashlight quickly, and some people rely on Siri while driving.

USB connections to computers and accessories are blocked on a locked iPhone by default. Apple warns that allowing them when locked turns off an important protection, so leave that one alone.

Notifications are the item people notice most, because a bank code or a message can be read in full from the Lock Screen.

1. 1Open Settings and tap Notifications.
2. 2Tap Show Previews and choose When Unlocked, or Never if you only want the app name.
3. 3For one sensitive app, tap it in the same list and change Show Previews there, or turn its notifications off completely.
4. 4If you use Face ID, When Unlocked usually means previews appear once your face is recognised. Someone looking over your shoulder while you hold the phone can still see them.

How to hide private content in the iPhone App Switcher covers the other place content leaks from a phone that is not locked.

• Emergency features. Emergency SOS and Medical ID are meant to be reachable by someone helping you, so they are not part of the list above.
• Anything shown on a phone that is already unlocked. Once someone is past the passcode, these settings no longer matter. See how to lend your iPhone without exposing your photos for that case.
• Someone who knows your passcode. Use one that is not a date or a repeated number, and avoid typing it where others can watch.

Lock Screen settings only limit what a locked phone reveals. They do not protect photos or files if the phone is unlocked and in someone else's hands.

On the same Face ID & Passcode screen there is an Erase Data switch. When it is on, iOS erases the phone after 10 failed passcode attempts.

This can protect a lost phone, but it can also wipe a phone that a child or a curious friend tried to open, so only turn it on if you have a recent backup. What to do when your iPhone is lost or stolen explains the steps to take in the first hour.

Lockboxy is an iPhone app that keeps photos, files, notes and passwords in an encrypted vault behind its own passcode, with Face ID as an option. That passcode is separate from your iPhone passcode, and the vault locks again after 1 minute without a touch.

It does not change what the iPhone Lock Screen shows. If someone gets past your iPhone passcode, items stored in the vault still need the vault passcode, while photos left in Photos do not.

How to lock apps on iPhone covers Face ID locks for other apps.

• Every setting above is free and built into iOS.
• Lockboxy's free plan holds up to 30 photos or videos and 10 files, and Premium removes those limits. Prices are on the Premium page and the app shows the exact price before you buy.
• If you forget the vault passcode and did not set a Recovery Key (Premium), nobody can open the vault, including us.
• Apple changes menu names and behaviour between iOS versions. If a step does not match your screen, use Search in Settings.