Privacy-grade app control for families and focus time

IA Lock pairs Apple Screen Time APIs with on-device encryption to lock or hide apps, schedule usage windows, and demand a PIN before anyone can reopen a sensitive app. It is the single workspace to keep your iPhone calm, compliant, and distraction-free.

Download on the App Store

Everything you need to stay in control

Build app groups, automate lock windows, and support daily life scenarios—whether you are safeguarding work apps, shaping your child’s screen time, or keeping private spaces private.

Lock & Hide Groups

Create dedicated groups for apps you want to lock or hide. Assign weekday calendars, toggle groups on/off instantly, and let IA Lock enforce the rest.

Secure Unlock Flow

Anyone requesting access must long-press the Shield notification, enter the 4-digit PIN, or unlock inside IA Lock. Every token stays inside your shared app group—never in the cloud.

System-level Automation

DeviceActivity and FamilyControls run daily loops that block apps the moment a schedule begins. Short windows automatically receive the minimum 15-minute warning so your rules always fire.

From setup to safe exit in 5 steps

IA Lock is engineered around the everyday flow of configuring, protecting, and gracefully exiting sensitive contexts.

1. Build your policy

Select Lock or Hide, give the group a friendly name, and choose your weekdays plus simple or advanced time ranges.

2. Pick the exact apps

Use Apple’s FamilyActivityPicker for precise app tokens, categories, or web domains. Free users start with 3 apps per group.

3. Enable Screen Time access

Request FamilyControls authorization once, and IA Lock deploys DeviceActivity schedules that mirror your plan every day.

4. Unlock when appropriate

Shield notifications prompt the PIN entry. Correct codes immediately remove the specific ApplicationToken from the block list.

5. Quick exit anytime

Toggle “Rotate to home screen” so flipping your phone face-down suspends the app—perfect for surprise drop-ins.

Deep capabilities, explained

Advanced scheduling

Apply unified time windows or enable advanced mode to give each weekday its own start and end time. IA Lock handles overlaps and compliance.

Granular controls

Beyond locking apps, you can disable installation/removal, force App Store passwords, restrict Siri, Safari AutoFill, and cellular data changes.

Custom Shield UI

A dedicated ManagedSettingsUI extension brands the lock screen with your message, so everyone understands why access is paused.

Privacy-first foundations

IA Lock stores policies, PIN codes, and application tokens inside the shared app group only. Nothing leaves the device, and every permission request is optional and transparent.

Required permissions

  • Screen Time (FamilyControls) — to read and enforce your selections.
  • Notifications — to deliver unlock prompts with secure text input.
  • Motion (optional) — only if you enable the face-down quick-exit gesture.

Declining a permission simply disables its associated feature; IA Lock continues to run with whatever scope you authorize.

Welcoming every user

The onboarding tour clarifies permissions, while the language picker ships with 15 locales including English, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Italian, Polish, and more.

Experience highlights

First-launch Welcome story Multi-language UI In-app FAQ browser Adaptive layout for iPhone & iPad

Talk to the IA Lock team

Need product details, partnership info, or have a technical question? Send us an email—responses typically arrive within two business days.