When Apple takes the stage at WWDC 2024 this week, iOS & iPadOS 18 are expected to be the headlining announcements. Apple will discuss what these new mobile operating systems will bring to the table in terms of new features, and it has a lot of people (us included) fired up about it.
But with WWDC 2024 kicking off tomorrow, the rumor mill has already started cranking up. An earlier rumor suggested that Apple would change the Home Screen’s app icon appearances based on the user-selected Light Mode or Dark Mode selection, but another rumor suggests that Apple could be expanding user privacy with the implementation of per-app locking with biometric authentication.
The rumor, first shared by MacRumors over the weekend, suggests that Apple could add a feature into iOS & iPadOS 18 that allows users to lock individual apps on their device behind Face ID or Touch ID biometric authentication. This would mean that even after unlocking the device, the user would need to authenticate once more to open certain apps, as selected by the end user.
A feature like this would be useful because sometimes we hand our unlocked iPhones or iPads to other people so that they can take photos, view pictures, or enter their contact information. Many times, we fear that someone could take advantage of this moment of vulnerability to open other apps on the device and peek into what would otherwise be considered private information.
While some third-party apps, including banking apps, VNC apps, and other sensitive content apps already offer some form of biometric authentication if the app developer has added it into their app, this new rumor suggests that the feature could extend to native apps, and perhaps even offer an API for developers to more easily implement it into their third-party apps.
The effect, then, is that even someone with your unlocked device would be unable to launch your Safari app to see your browsing history or launch your Photos app to see your photographs and videos. Likewise, they wouldn’t be able to open any locked app without your permission, which would be supremely beneficial to the end user.
We should also make fair mention that the jailbreak community has offered solutions like this for years, such as iOS developer Elias Limneos’ BioProtect XS jailbreak tweak which allowed jailbreakers to lock individual apps on their device with passcodes and biometric authentication in an effort to limit access to only the intended user.
Personally, I would be very excited about this. I often show people things on my iPhone, and the last thing I want is for someone to open apps I didn’t intend them to use and view personal files and information on my device. I’ve gone as far as to use Guided Access to restrict a person’s actions on my device, but that seemed clunky and obvious and quietly stated “I don’t trust you” to whomever I handed my iPhone to. Native per-app locking is a more seamless and less apparent way to keep user data safe.
What are your thoughts about the idea that iOS & iPadOS 18 could bring enhanced per-app biometric authentication requirements to your device? Let us know in the comments section down below.