How to Use Guided Access on Android Phones

This article explains how to use guided access functionality on Android devices, which is called "screen pinning." Screen pinning lets you lock only one app to the screen of your device so other apps are inaccessible or unusable. This is helpful if you share your device with a child.

How to Enable Screen Pinning for Guided Access

Before you can activate screen pinning, you’ll have to turn it on.

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap Security & location > Screen pinning.

3. Tap the screen pinning toggle switch to enable the feature.

   

   You can also tap Ask for PIN before unpinning if you want screen pinning to use your PIN when attempting to unpin an app.

How to Use Screen Pinning

Once you've activated the feature, it's easy to use screen pinning anytime you want to limit access to your device.

1. Open the app you want to pin.

2. Tap the square app switcher icon to open the app switcher screen.

3. Tap the thumbtack Screen pinning icon.

4. The screen of the selected app is now pinned.

5. To unpin the app, simply tap and hold the back and app switcher buttons.

   

   If you didn't enable PIN locking, you'll return to your home screen. Otherwise, you'll be prompted to enter your PIN before returning to your device’s home screen. 

More on Android Screen Pinning

Guided access functionality is called "screen pinning" on Android devices. When enabled, all parts of the pinned app can be used as normal, but users can't return to the home screen, open the app switcher, or switch to the previous app until Screen pinning is disabled.

There are two modes that Screen pinning can operate in when enabled:

• Under the first mode, holding the back button and app switcher button is all that's needed to disable Screen pinning and re-enable normal OS usage.
• In the second mode, the same button combination must be used, but this then shunts users to the lock screen, where the device PIN must be entered to resume normal OS usage.

Why Use Screen Pinning?

The main use for screen pinning is locking down app access for children. If you share your main Android device with a child, you may not want them getting into your texts, emails, or other sensitive areas.

For younger children, the button-only unpinning mode is usually sufficient to quickly pin the app before you hand off the device and quickly unpin it when they’re done.

Screen pinning is also useful when a friend wants to use your device, but you don’t want them poking around outside of the app you want them to access. For this, you'll likely have to use the PIN locking mode, thereby preventing them from using the easier button combination to deactivate screen pinning and circumvent your protections.

While these are the two most common use cases, there are a couple of other situational instances where screen pinning can come in handy. For instance, the button-PIN combination mode is useful for lending your phone to a stranger who needs to make an emergency call.

For a more novel use, if you have a friend you really trust, you could use Screen pinning as a productivity hack. If you want to lock yourself out of changing apps so you don’t get distracted and wander over to Facebook, you could have your friend pin your productivity app with a PIN you don’t know, then have them unlock it when your task is done.