Handing your phone to a friend, a child, or a curious colleague is a small act of trust that can expose far more than intended. Whether the request is a quick call, a few photos, or a game to keep a kid occupied, both Android and iOS ship with built-in tools designed to keep the borrower inside a single app. For longer loans, guest profiles and separate accounts provide a cleaner separation. None of these options is a perfect lock, and understanding where each one falls short is essential before you let go of your device.
- App pinning (Android): Locks the screen to one app until you enter your PIN, pattern, or password to exit.
- Guided Access (iPhone/iPad): Restricts the device to a single app and adds granular controls over buttons, screen zones, and time limits.
- Guest profiles and accounts: Better suited to multi-hour loans, isolating files, messages, and app data from your main session.
- Browser guest mode: A lightweight option when the borrower only needs to browse the web.
This is not about protecting a phone from a thief—anti-theft settings handle that scenario—but about preventing an over-eager swipe from reaching things that were never meant to be shared.
App Pinning on Android: Fast but Fragile
App pinning keeps a single app on screen until you unpin it. Google’s official documentation uses exactly this example: pin an app, hand the phone to a friend, and they can only use that app. The feature must be enabled once through Settings > Security (or Security & location) > Advanced > App pinning. If the option does not appear, Google directs users to the device manufacturer. On Pixel devices, some steps require Android 11 or later. Once enabled, open the app, go to the recent apps view, tap the app icon, and choose Pin. Unpinning requires the PIN, pattern, or password.
Samsung calls the feature Pin app and places it under Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Pin app. Here lies the catch: requiring a code to exit depends on a separate toggle, Unlock to unpin (or Lock phone after unpinning, depending on the version). Enabling it is advisable, because Samsung only states that the device “may” ask for the lock method when exiting the pin (by holding recent apps and back for more than three seconds). Samsung adds that with an app pinned, calls and messages are blocked.
Guided Access: Apple’s Finer-Grained Control
Guided Access offers more precision than Android’s pinning. Beyond restricting the device to a single app, it lets you set a time limit, disable specific buttons and screen areas, and prevent the keyboard from appearing. It is configured under Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access, where you define a passcode and decide whether Face ID or Touch ID can also end the session. Then open the app and triple-click the side button (or the home button on older models). On the screen that appears, you can circle areas that should not respond—for example, a purchase button inside a game—and block volume, motion, or all touches. Apple notes that from iOS 26.1, blocking volume also affects Bluetooth headphones.
One warning should not be overlooked: according to Apple, crash detection and emergency services are unavailable while Guided Access is active. If you lend an iPhone to someone who might need to call emergency services, that lock works against them.
For children, the time limit is the most useful feature. And if the loan has become a habit, the conversation is no longer about settings but about how much screen time the WHO and pediatricians recommend.
Longer Loans: Guest Profiles and Separate Accounts
For loans lasting hours, a separate space beats a pinned app. Android allows creating user profiles with their own home screens, accounts, apps, and settings, via Settings > System > Multiple users (some steps require Android 14). Google reserves the user profile for a regular person and the guest profile for one-off use. Files, messages, and app data are not shared between profiles; app updates and settings such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are.
The nuance lies in Pixel’s guest documentation: the guest session does not erase itself. On returning, the phone asks whether to Start over or continue with previous data, and Google recommends the guest remove their information when finished (Quick Settings > User > Remove guest). If nobody does, the next person may find what the previous one left behind. Google also warns that the guest profile does not exist on all Android devices.
On the desktop side, Windows’ official account guidance does not mention a guest mode: the described path is creating another account. Microsoft’s page on user accounts, valid for Windows 11 and Windows 10, leads to Settings > Accounts > Other users > Add account, with the option to create a local account without a Microsoft account. The company advises limiting administrators and using standard accounts for daily use.
On a Mac, a guest user does exist, under Apple menu > System Settings > Users & Groups. According to Apple’s help, the guest logs in without a password, cannot change settings, and their files go to a temporary folder that is deleted on logout. With FileVault enabled, the guest can use Safari but cannot access the encrypted disk or create files.
If the borrower only needs to browse, the browser’s guest profile suffices. In Chrome, open it from Profile > Guest profile; per Google’s help, the guest does not see your profile, and closing the window erases history, cookies, and site data. In Edge, Microsoft calls it Browse as guest.
What Each Option Protects—and What It Doesn’t
App pinning protects the rest of your apps only if exiting requires a code; on Samsung, that depends on enabling Unlock to unpin. Guided Access protects other apps, buttons, and screen zones but disables emergency calls and crash detection. Android’s guest profile protects your files, messages, and app data but not against what a previous guest left behind. The Mac guest protects your files and settings but not access, since it logs in without a password. Browser guest mode protects your history and sessions but not what websites, the network, or the provider can see.
Google explains that last point bluntly: what the guest does remains visible to the sites visited, to whoever manages the network, and to the internet provider. As for notifications, none of the Google and Apple pages consulted clarifies what happens to alerts arriving while an app is pinned or in Guided Access. When in doubt, silence them before handing over the phone.
The real problem is not a lack of tools but where they are hidden: one in an advanced security submenu, another in Accessibility, so almost nobody has them ready when someone asks to borrow a phone. Set them up today, with the exit code mandatory, even if you never expect to use them. And if your concern is not a curious borrower but a targeted attack, the conversation shifts to iPhone’s Lockdown Mode and Android’s Advanced Protection.