Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Can I Touch ID Lock ANY App of My Choosing?

HappyDude20

HappyDude20

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
3,688
1,479
Los Angeles, Ca
I don't yet have an iPhone six which leads me to ask, with the new iPhone 6 and also the new iPad air 2, can I lock any application of my choosing, such as the photos app, so I can feel secure knowing my kids or anyone I'm lending the phone to won't open any application Without my permission?
 
Well, suppose I know for the next seven days I plan that only I will be using my iOS device. But to be safe, in case someone asks me to borrow my phone in the office, can I let it be so for these seven days the photos app, OmniFocus and messages app are only accessible with my finger print an still allow all other apps to be opened up normally?
 
HappyDude20 said:
Well, suppose I know for the next seven days I plan that only I will be using my iOS device. But to be safe, in case someone asks me to borrow my phone in the office, can I let it be so for these seven days the photos app, OmniFocus and messages app are only accessible with my finger print an still allow all other apps to be opened up normally?
Click to expand...

You can't lock all apps with Touch ID. Only some apps support this. You can however use another feature as the previous poster mention. Let's say your kid wants to play a game. You open the game and then lock it so they can't quit the game. You can even disable touch input and all the buttons. Perfect when they watch a movie.
 
Jailbreak is your only option which is kinda silly on apples part. Should be the most obvious feature to include
 
bushido said:
Jailbreak is your only option which is kinda silly on apples part. Should be the most obvious feature to include
Click to expand...


It has really nothing to do with Jail Breaking. The app developer needs to support it. Let app developers know it's a feature you want.
 
Winona Northdakota said:
It has really nothing to do with Jail Breaking. The app developer needs to support it. Let app developers know it's a feature you want.
Click to expand...

Well you can't touchid protect the default apps like the photos app either. I know devs can implement it but that seems more work than needed. Why not just add toggles to manually enabled it for certain apps in the privacy menu
 
bushido said:
Well you can't touchid protect the default apps like the photos app either. I know devs can implement it but that seems more work than needed. Why not just add toggles to manually enabled it for certain apps in the privacy menu
Click to expand...


Because the way Touch ID is designed, app developers need to implement the feature. It's more than just a toggle in your system settings.
 
yaboyac29 said:
I don't think u understand what he's trying to say.
Click to expand...


I don't think you really understand Touch ID. To implement the feature correctly and securely, app developers need to implement Touch ID into their apps. There is full support app developers to do it correctly with the developer tool kit.
 
Winona Northdakota said:
I don't think you really understand Touch ID. To implement the feature correctly and securely, app developers need to implement Touch ID into their apps. There is full support app developers to do it correctly with the developer tool kit.
Click to expand...

All TouchID returns is a 'yes' or a 'no'. There's no reason why Apple can't add a 'TouchID Lock' preference pane in Privacy settings, which lets the user toggle which apps have to be opened with TouchID.

This would be quite an easy solution and wouldn't require developers to do anything. Of course, developers can add TouchID to specific parts of their apps (e.g. logging in to personal banking), but a global switch for the app would be beneficial.
 
cambookpro said:
All TouchID returns is a 'yes' or a 'no'. There's no reason why Apple can't add a 'TouchID Lock' preference pane in Privacy settings, which lets the user toggle which apps have to be opened with TouchID.



This would be quite an easy solution and wouldn't require developers to do anything. Of course, developers can add TouchID to specific parts of their apps (e.g. logging in to personal banking), but a global switch for the app would be beneficial.
Click to expand...


The app itself would have to allow for that lock process from within the app. The method you suggest would complicate app permissions such as the way audio and audio processes are shared with Audiobus, the way files are shared with iCloud sharing or even the way extensions are shared with photo apps. It's not a simple solution from the system settings, since iOS apps are sandboxed and the way apps are allowed to interact with other apps.
 
Winona Northdakota said:
The app itself would have to allow for that lock process from within the app. The method you suggest would complicate app permissions such as the way audio and audio processes are shared with Audiobus, the way files are shared with iCloud sharing or even the way extensions are shared with photo apps. It's not a simple solution from the system settings, since iOS apps are sandboxed and the way apps are allowed to interact with other apps.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's very true. However, if an app was locked, it would make sense for Extensions, multitasking APIs etc to be disabled, or for TouchID again to be prompted if, for example, an Extension was called upon.

It would be useful for simple apps (e.g. Photos) and for apps that developers are not updating. There are, of course, better ways, like developers adding TouchID support to specific bits of their app. However, an option to lock some apps with TouchID would be a useful feature that is feasible.
 
cambookpro said:
Yes, that's very true. However, if an app was locked, it would make sense for Extensions, multitasking APIs etc to be disabled, or for TouchID again to be prompted if, for example, an Extension was called upon.



It would be useful for simple apps (e.g. Photos) and for apps that developers are not updating. There are, of course, better ways, like developers adding TouchID support to specific bits of their app. However, an option to lock some apps with TouchID would be a useful feature that is feasible.
Click to expand...


The problem is every time you leave an app, it would be locked. I don't want to have to keep unlocking an app just to use an iMaschine Audiobus extension with with GarageBand. It would be a nightmare.
 
Winona Northdakota said:
The problem is every time you leave an app, it would be locked. I don't want to have to keep unlocking an app just to use an iMaschine Audiobus extension with with GarageBand. It would be a nightmare.
Click to expand...

That's true, but perhaps that app would not need to be locked, or it would be unlocked until the process had finished.

It's not a perfect solution at the moment, but if Apple took the time to implement it, it could work.

Isn't there a jailbreak tweak that does this? How does that handle things like Extensions?
 
Can I Touch ID Lock ANY App of My Choosing?

cambookpro said:
That's true, but perhaps that app would not need to be locked, or it would be unlocked until the process had finished.
Click to expand...

How does an app know you are finished?



cambookpro said:
It's not a perfect solution at the moment, but if Apple took the time to implement it, it could work.
Click to expand...

Now you are just trying to justify your position, without understanding how iOS is designed or how Touch ID is designed.

Here's an example of why your suggestion is totally flawed. My banking app requires that every time I access the app, I enter my bank's password. This password is different than my iPhone user password. If the developer of my banking app wanted to, they could implement Touch ID, then it would be possible for my banking app to auto enter my Bank's access password, saving me time and hassle. The way you suggest is that I have Touch ID and my bank's password to enter which is horribly redundant and saves me no time. App developers need to allow for Touch ID from within the app. This is the best approach.

Another example: I grant my photo editing app the permission to access my photos in my camera roll, yet I turn on Touch ID password for my photo album. I neglect to turn on Touch ID for my photo editing app which still has permission to access my camera roll. Why would I even need to have permissions at all? Your suggestion is a nightmare of complexity and redundancy.


cambookpro said:
Isn't there a jailbreak tweak that does this? How does that handle things like Extensions?
Click to expand...


I will leave this question to the Jail Break community, since I haven't seen a reason for me to Jail Break in many years.
 
Last edited:
Winona Northdakota said:
Now you are just trying to justify your position, without understanding how iOS is designed or how Touch ID is designed.

Here's an example of why your suggestion is totally flawed. My banking app requires that every time I access the app, I enter my bank's password. This password is different than my iPhone user password. If the developer of my banking app wanted to, they could implement Touch ID, then it would be possible for my banking app to auto enter my Bank's access password, saving me time and hassle. The way you suggest is that I have Touch ID and my bank's password to enter which is horribly redundant and saves me no time. App developers need to allow for Touch ID from within the app. This is the best approach.

Another example: I grant my photo editing app the permission to access my photos in my camera roll, yet I turn on Touch ID password for my photo album. I neglect to turn on Touch ID for my photo editing app which still has permission to access my camera roll. Why would I even need to have permissions at all? Your suggestion is a nightmare of complexity and redundancy.
Click to expand...

I'm perfectly comfortable with my understanding of iOS and how TouchID APIs can be implemented inside an application - I've experimented with them inside my own apps and know how they work.

Yes, that would be redundant in that scenario. However, that's why it would be an option in Settings. In my banking app, there's an option to see your balance without entering my password. Useful? Yes. But perhaps if I let someone else use my phone, I wouldn't want them to see that, so it could be locked.

I'm not going to say that the idea is perfect - I don't even think I'd use it, as I'm comfortable just locking my phone. But to say it's a 'nightmare of complexity' isn't quite true. It's definitely doable if Apple wanted to.

Anyway, I'm 99% certain we won't see it in iOS 9 for the same reason we don't have multiple user accounts on iPads: if someone else wants to use your iPhone, they should buy their own iOS device.
 
Winona Northdakota said:
How does an app know you are finished?





Now you are just trying to justify your position, without understanding how iOS is designed or how Touch ID is designed.

Here's an example of why your suggestion is totally flawed. My banking app requires that every time I access the app, I enter my bank's password. This password is different than my iPhone user password. If the developer of my banking app wanted to, they could implement Touch ID, then it would be possible for my banking app to auto enter my Bank's access password, saving me time and hassle. The way you suggest is that I have Touch ID and my bank's password to enter which is horribly redundant and saves me no time. App developers need to allow for Touch ID from within the app. This is the best approach.

Another example: I grant my photo editing app the permission to access my photos in my camera roll, yet I turn on Touch ID password for my photo album. I neglect to turn on Touch ID for my photo editing app which still has permission to access my camera roll. Why would I even need to have permissions at all? Your suggestion is a nightmare of complexity and redundancy.





I will leave this question to the Jail Break community, since I haven't seen a reason for me to Jail Break in many years.
Click to expand...

Silly example. Why would anyone set the additional privacy on an app that is already secured? Why is this such a bad idea? You'd essentially be changing the permissions on the app and requiring authorization to run it. The OS could warn you if the app will remain running when you try to leave it and give you the option to allow it or close.

I get that this could be confusing for many users. I think Apple should create an advanced set of options that can be turned on and off so a basic set is all users see by default.
 
Can I Touch ID Lock ANY App of My Choosing?

cambookpro said:
I'm perfectly comfortable with my understanding of iOS and how TouchID APIs can be implemented inside an application - I've experimented with them inside my own apps and know how they work.



Yes, that would be redundant in that scenario. However, that's why it would be an option in Settings. In my banking app, there's an option to see your balance without entering my password. Useful? Yes. But perhaps if I let someone else use my phone, I wouldn't want them to see that, so it could be locked.



I'm not going to say that the idea is perfect - I don't even think I'd use it, as I'm comfortable just locking my phone. But to say it's a 'nightmare of complexity' isn't quite true. It's definitely doable if Apple wanted to.



Anyway, I'm 99% certain we won't see it in iOS 9 for the same reason we don't have multiple user accounts on iPads: if someone else wants to use your iPhone, they should buy their own iOS device.
Click to expand...


My banking app does not allow me to see my balance without a password. In fact just launching the app prompts for me to log in with password before anything else.
 
Winona Northdakota said:
I don't think you really understand Touch ID. To implement the feature correctly and securely, app developers need to implement Touch ID into their apps. There is full support app developers to do it correctly with the developer tool kit.
Click to expand...

are you serious?

read his post and read your post.

he wants to add touch id to an STOCK apps. i think you have reading comprehension issues. i understand it just fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back