User Guide
Five minutes from install to your first lock. Questions this page doesn't answer are probably on the support page.
1 · First launch
LendLock is built on iPhone's own Screen Time system — it's the only way iOS allows one app to lock another. On first launch you'll be asked to grant Screen Time access; approve it and you're in. That authorization stays on your device, and LendLock never reads your usage history.
2 · Choose what locks
Tap the Apps row to open Apple's app picker. Tick whole categories (Social, Games, …) or expand a category and tick exact apps. Two things worth knowing:
Ticking a category also covers its websites — block the TikTok app and tiktok.com in Safari is blocked with it, so there's no browser loophole. And a category keeps covering apps that are installed later, so "Social" stays meaningful as the phone changes.
In the free version you lock whole categories; picking exact apps is part of LendLock Pro.
3 · Lock and hand it over
Tap the big button. That's it — no Face ID needed to lock, because locking should be the fast part. Locked apps show a "Locked with LendLock" screen when opened, and their notifications stop appearing, so a borrowed phone doesn't buzz with your messages.
For even faster locking, add the LendLock widget to your Home Screen: touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit → Add Widget, and search for LendLock. One tap on the widget locks; the same tap when locked opens the app to unlock. The same action works from Shortcuts, Siri, and the Action button.
4 · Unlock when you get it back
Tap the button and Face ID confirms it's you. By default your iPhone passcode works as a fallback — but if the people you lend to know your passcode (kids usually do), set a custom LendLock code in the Unlock row: a private 6-digit code that replaces the iPhone passcode entirely for unlocking. Forgot it? Deleting the app removes every lock; reinstall and set up again.
5 · Setups (Pro)
The Lending to menu holds named setups — Kid, Guest, Sleepover — each with its own list of blocked apps. Pick the setup, then lock: what's on the list is locked, everything else keeps working. Hand your phone to your kid with Messages, Mail, and photos locked; use a stricter list for a sleepover iPad.
Phone calls always work — iOS never lets any app block the Phone app, which for a lending app is a feature, not a bug.
6 · The kids' device
LendLock works the same on iPad. A common setup for a child's iPad: install LendLock there, block what's off-limits, then turn on Settings lock. With it on, every change to LendLock's configuration — the app lists, the setups, the code, even turning Settings lock off — asks for your Face ID or LendLock code first. The controls stay visible and responsive; they just can't be changed without you.
To close the last loophole — deleting the app — set a Screen Time passcode on the device (Settings → Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings). With one set, iOS requires that passcode before LendLock can be deleted, so the lock can't be escaped by removing it.
7 · LendLock Pro
Free: lock whole categories, the widget, and your own unlock code. Pro ($4.99, once): pick exact apps and save multiple setups. No subscription, and the purchase is family-shareable — buy once, and it covers your household's devices through Family Sharing. Restore it on a new device from the Pro screen with Restore Purchases.
Good to know
A few things iOS decides, not LendLock: Settings, Phone, and Health can never be locked by any app (emergency calling, Medical ID, and device administration are protected by the system — details on the support page). Locks survive restarts, and deleting LendLock removes everything it applied. LendLock makes no network requests: no account, no analytics, nothing leaves the phone.