How to Lock Instagram with FaceID without Jailbreak?.
Even though WhatsApp for iPhone allows you to lock an app using Face ID, I still want it to be allowed in other apps. For example, I use Instagram extensively and would like to see private messages blocked by FaceID. Since there is no native FaceID to block your Instagram, we have the next best thing. Let’s block Instagram with FaceID or any other iOS app.
Apps that already use FaceID / TouchID
FaceID and TouchID are usually reserved for privacy-related apps like WhatsApp, Authy, LastPass, Edison Email, and other banking apps. Built-in integration makes it easy to access applications privately. However, this is not the only way to password protect your apps, I recently found a workaround that allows you to put a password on any app using Screen Time.
How to lock Instagram with FaceID?
To block Instagram or any other application with FaceID, we’re going to use a shortcut created by @burrito. It works just like other app blocking apps you see on Android devices, but it works without any gimmicks. However, there is one drawback. When you open an app after activating FaceID lock, it takes one to two seconds for the lock screen to appear. Since it is launched with Siri Shortcut, it is not as simple as the built-in blocking in WhatsApp, but it still works.
Set up FaceID for Instagram
Proceed with installing the two shortcuts to your iPhone using the AppDefense and AuthKit link. These two shortcuts work together to provide full FaceID functionality to any application. To simplify the installation process, first install AppDefense.
The shortcut will help you set up FaceID for the first time. Follow the steps below to set up a shortcut on your iPhone.
You will be prompted to select the app for which you have set up FaceID authentication. Click Select to open the list of applications. For this article, I would choose Instagram. But this workaround should work with any iOS app installed on your iPhone. The process is the same.
With Instagram selected, click Continue and proceed to the next screen. Now enter the app name “Instagram” so you don’t get confused when setting this shortcut for multiple apps.
Now one shortcut is ready, and we move on to setting up the next. In the Shortcuts app, tap the newly installed AppDefense shortcut. You will be prompted to configure AuthKit, click OK to continue.
Here you will be asked to set a numeric access code, which comes in handy if you cannot authenticate with FaceID. Choose a password of your choice and turn on FaceID. However, if your iPhone has a TouchID, it will automatically detect this and prompt you to enable TouchID.
You can decide if you want the shortcut to display a notification and play a beep on every successful authentication when you enter the App Store. You can skip it.
Now we are almost done and we just need to set a trigger to launch the shortcut every time we open the Instagram app. In the Shortcuts app, tap the Automation tab at the bottom and create a new Automation by clicking the + button in the upper right corner. Click “Create Personal Automation” to continue.
Select “Open Application†under “Settings†and select “Instagram†from the list of applications. That would be our trigger, and whenever you opened the Instagram app, it would launch a shortcut.
Click the Add Action button on the page and find the Execute Shortcut.
Now tap on the gray shortcut button next to Run and add “AppDefense”.
Automation is ready, tap Next to go to the next page, tap the switch next to Ask before launch and turn it off.
This will automate smooth operations without your active involvement every time. Click Finish to finish.
Final verdict
That’s all you need to do to get it working. Now every time you open the Instagram app it will show a white splash screen. He will verify your identity using FaceID. This shortcut is still a workaround and doesn’t look as good as the native integration, but it works completely. However, the automation starts one second after clicking on the Instagram app, so you can still see the main screen of the Instagram app. But this will prevent you from opening the app until you authenticate with your face or password. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.