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*open Shortcuts, remove Automation, open app*
So, you bring up a good point here, but the article also says that you should enable this feature on the shortcuts app as well to create a level of security against someone just disabling the feature...that would be great except the Shortcuts app appears to be the only app that is not listed in the app list to use the automation on.
 
Giving your unlocked phone to someone is a No No. if your kids want to play video games, give them there own device for that purpose. I someone needs to make a call, dial the number for them and put the phone on speaker for them.
Use "Guided Access" in accessibility. Triple click of power button locks the phone in the app it is in. Further, it allows you to draw areas under which become unresponsive to touch. Solves every aspect of your post.
 
oh waw!!!! so easy and userfriendly.

Ffs.. without a how-to not a single user will ever figure this out.
Seriously, it feels like "shortcuts" are Apples way of giving you features that they are too lazy to fully develop in a user friendly way. The day Scott Forstall was taken off iOs and let go, was a sad one for iOs. He placed importance on iOs being intuitive. All because they forced him to release a map app too quickly because of a spat with google. :(
 
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Use "Guided Access" in accessibility. Triple click of power button locks the phone in the app it is in. Further, it allows you to draw areas under which become unresponsive to touch. Solves every aspect of your post.
Don’t have time to do all that fiddling. I just wouldn’t give my phone to someone for them to use.
 
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Seriously, it feels like "shortcuts" are Apples way of giving you features features they are too lazy to fully develop in a user friendly way. The day Scott Forstall was taken off iOs and let go was a sad one for how iOs placed importance on being intuitive. And all because they forced him to release a map app too quickly because of a spat with google. :(
Agree.

Just something as simple as automating certain settings to get enabled/disabled at certain times of the day or when leaving or arriving at a location is something that should be accessible from Settings directly.
 
*open Shortcuts, remove Automation, open app*
How a thief would know you have an automation on the Shortcuts app to lock some apps? First thing a thief will try to do is go to the Settings or Find My or bank app, just lock these apps and the thief will get locked.
 
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Let's take bets I 100% think this will be patched out if this becomes popular. Apple doesn't allow people to do things. They will spin it something something security something something unintended use.

You use your phone as Apple dictates.

And don't get me wrong I love my iPhone. Just don't like Apple being over the top like they are.
 
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Let's take bets I 100% think this will be patched out if this becomes popular. Apple doesn't allow people to do things. They will spin it something something security something something unintended use.

You use your phone as Apple dictates.

And don't get me wrong I love my iPhone. Just don't like Apple being over the top like they are.

Shortcuts is an official Apple app, they added this specific functionality themselves in 16.4 to it.
 
Completely useless since the Shortcuts app itself cannot be protected like this.

I mean it's not supposed to be hardcore encryption hiding from a thief - it's just an idea to stop a friend glancing at nudes in your photo library when you give them the unlocked phone to look at something on a website.
 
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Am I the only one despising Shortcuts. Training my dog to walk on hind feet and barking in Esperanto was by far an easier way to fail...
 
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It should just be baked into iOS. Pick the app you want blocked and that's it.
It needs to go one step further though and allow to use a separate pin or add back TouchID along with FaceID and allow the second authentication method to open the apps.
 
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Shortcuts is an official Apple app, they added this specific functionality themselves in 16.4 to it.
They added specific functionality to change wallpapers and have a album set and promptly dropped the functionality for several years of complaints.

It's not a stretch.

Dropped in iOS 13 and didn't come back until iOS 16. It was also moved out of shortcuts altogether.
 
'Note that the same Lock Screen action can also be found in macOS 13.3'

This line had me interested, but I can't seem to figure it out in the Shortcuts app on macOS 13.3.1, anyone got it working for something like Signal?
 
Why not allow users to remove the passcode altogether and rely only on biometrics?
Because if someone punches your face or burns your finger, you could be locked out forever without a passcode.

Many people don’t realize that Touch ID / Face ID is mostly just for convenience, and the real security remains primarily bound to the passcode.
 
in light of the recent iphone theft and account lockout scams, this is probably another vector to have your passcode exposed is you frequently enter your passcode instead of faceID.
 
I[f] someone needs to make a call, dial the number for them and put the phone on speaker for them.
this is interesting. in light of the recent thefts i could see a new scam popping up where someone walks up looking desperate asking to use your phone to make a call, only to walk off with your phone.
 
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There is no workaround for lack of awareness, and keeping your pin/passcode safe.
Yeah, if you don't go into a spy-proof vault to use your PIN, you deserve to have your bank account drained, your iCloud password locked, and photos of your children used to intimidate you into paying ransom. It's your own fault!!!

Seriously, though -- there should be more safeguards than this. At the VERY least, the code that lets you into your Apple ID settings and banking apps should be different from the one you use to unlock the phone. Low hanging fruit, right there.

And victim-blaming isn't a great look, by the way.
 
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Still doesn’t protect access to your passwords on keychain. Even with a workaround of setting up secondary password using screen time to protect making changes to a stolen phone a thief can still get all your passwords from keychain. Apple has serious work to do in this area.
"Privacy is a fundamental right." Yet some of these basic (fundamental) things linger.
 
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