A browser is not a VPN. App Lock keeps this app closed on the phone. It does not hide your IP address from sites you visit or from your network operator. Tracking protection is list-based and not absolute: known ads, analytics, and social trackers from bundled lists are blocked on the device, but no blocker catches everything. Private Browser Incognito is rated 17+ for unrestricted web access and is intended for adults.
A private browser still lives on a phone that other people can pick up. No history file, on-device blocking, and one-tap erase answer what the app stores and what extra requests a page tries to fire. They do not answer a roommate who already knows the iPhone passcode. App Lock is the smaller door: a six-digit code, with Face ID if you enable it, that keeps this session closed. It is not Apple’s lock for the device. It does not freeze Messages, Photos, or the rest of iOS.
That scope is the whole point of this page. People hear lock and picture the phone going dark. People hear private and picture every other app going quiet too. Neither is what ships. The device passcode is Apple’s. App Lock is ours, and it is free. Stealth Suite (decoy, panic, and the rest of that kit) is a separate product sitting at the same door, not a second operating system. The walkthrough of the lock as a feature is App Lock With Passcode and Face ID.
Two doors, two owners
The device passcode (or device Face ID) unlocks the phone. That secret is Apple’s to store and Apple’s to recover through Apple’s own flows. We do not receive it. We do not reset it. We do not invent a mobile device management story in which this browser becomes a supervised profile for the whole handset. If you needed the phone locked, you needed iOS Settings. If you needed only this browser closed, you needed App Lock.
Unlocking the iPhone does not open Private Browser Incognito if App Lock is on. Someone who knows the phone code and does not know the app code should meet a closed browser. That is the useful split on a shared device: the home screen is not the session. The two secrets should not be the same number if you can help it. A borrowed phone is often unlocked already. Reusing the device code turns App Lock into a delay, not a door.
Locking the browser does not lock Messages, Photos, Mail, Camera, or Safari. Those apps stay under Apple’s device lock and Apple’s permissions. A person holding an unlocked iPhone can still open them. They cannot open this session without the app code, or Face ID you enabled for this app. If the threat was hiding every conversation on the phone, this product is the wrong shopping list. Shared-device habits are in Private Browsing on a Shared iPhone.
App Lock is free, and it is only this app
App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free for everyone in the shipping default. You should not have to pay to close the real session. Every tab behind that door is still a private session held in memory. There is no browsing history feature and no history file to clear. Cookies and caches still exist for the life of the session. The lock does not erase them. It keeps other people from seeing them.
That is a different job from one-tap erase, which closes every tab and destroys cookies, cache, and site data. Lock when the phone might be picked up. Erase when the working state should die. Neither lock nor erase hides your IP. Sites you visit and your network operator can still see it. List-based blocking from bundled Disconnect lists is not 100 percent. HTTPS-Only Mode asks before falling back to insecure HTTP. It does not hide who you are talking to.
There are no accounts and no sign-in. There is no app server for browsing. The App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected: no analytics SDK, no ads in the app, no third-party SDKs. Locking the icon does not reroute page loads. A locked browser is still a browser. Rated 17+ means unrestricted web access. You are responsible for what you visit and for using the app lawfully.
The six-digit passcode is the key
Most apps that ask for a PIN keep a verifier so they can tell you that you typed it wrong, and so they can offer a reset. That design needs a stored secret, or a hash of one, or a server that will email a link. App Lock in this browser does not work that way. The passcode is never stored. It becomes the key. The six digits derive the encryption that seals data the lock is meant to protect. We cannot show you the code. We cannot hash-compare our way to a reset.
Forgotten passcodes cannot be recovered. If you forget it, data sealed under it is permanently inaccessible. That is not a support article we can reverse later. It is how the key works. There is no recovery email because there is no account. The device passcode flow will not unseal this app. Apple can help with an iPhone you forgot how to unlock, on Apple’s terms. That help does not include our key, because we never stored it. The longer version of that irreversibility is Your Six-Digit Passcode Is the Key.
Choose a code you can remember without writing it on a note that lives in the same pocket as the phone. Do not pick a birthday that everyone in the house already knows. Mixing it with the iPhone passcode is how people later expect Settings to reset this app. Settings does not have our key.
Face ID is convenience, not a second owner
Face ID is how you skip typing the six digits when the sensor matches. You turn it on in the app. When it matches, the real session opens. When it does not, you type the passcode. Face ID is not a backup key we hold, and not something we can reset if the passcode is gone. It uses the device’s existing biometrics, with permission you grant in this app. It is not the same as device Face ID unlocking the whole phone.
If Face ID is enabled you can still unlock with it after you have forgotten the six digits. That window is device behavior, not a recovery product we sell. Use it, then set a new passcode you will actually remember. If Face ID is off and the code is gone, reinstalling lets you start a new app. It does not restore sealed tabs or vault files. Device Face ID opens the handset. App Face ID, if you enabled it, opens this session. Two sensors can look alike. They are still two doors. The narrower split is Face ID vs Passcode for App Lock.
Stealth Suite sits at the same door, and is not the phone
Stealth Suite is optional Apple IAP: monthly $4.99, yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial, or lifetime $49.99. It adds a decoy passcode, a panic code, a break-in log with optional Intruder Photo, self-destruct, the encrypted vault, and icon colors (Midnight, Ocean, Ember). None of those extras locks Messages. None of them is required to use the free lock. If a subscription lapses, protections you already enabled keep working and the vault stays accessible.
A decoy is a second code that opens a clean, empty browser while real tabs stay hidden. That is still this app performing a different scene. It is not a fake iOS home screen. Icon colors recolor the shield. There are no calculator, notes, or weather disguise icons in the shipping app. Panic is a number at the same lock screen that silently wipes tabs, the entire vault, and the break-in log, then opens what looks like a fresh start. Self-destruct fires after too many wrong codes: saved tabs are destroyed, and optionally the vault with them. Those are app events. They are not device wipes.
We will not invent MDM claims, supervised-device profiles, or a remote lock that bricks the iPhone. There is no app server for browsing that could issue one. Intruder Photo is off until you enable it. Camera permission is asked when you turn that feature on, never at the lock screen. Photos may depict other people. You are responsible for local law.
What a lock does not cancel
A locked browser is still a browser once you open it. Websites you visit see your IP address, the usual headers, and whatever you type into their forms. Your network operator sees destinations. None of that is solved by a six-digit code on this icon. We do not claim fingerprint spoofing as a product, Tor, a proxy, or IP hiding. Private Browser Incognito is iOS only.
Session erase is still the everyday destroy. The trash action closes every tab and destroys cookies, cache, and site data. There is a home-screen quick action so you do not have to open the app first. Session erase does not empty the encrypted download vault. Lock hides. Erase deletes the session. Panic can take the vault too. If you only needed the app shut, App Lock is enough and does not destroy anything.
| Lock | What it closes | What it does not close |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone passcode (Apple) | The device | Not this app’s key. We never receive it |
| App Lock (free) | This browser session | Messages, Photos, Mail, the rest of iOS |
| Face ID in this app | Convenience unlock for the real session | Not a second key we hold. Not device Face ID |
| Decoy passcode | Opens an empty browser in this app | Not a fake home screen. Stealth Suite |
| Panic code | Wipes tabs, vault, and break-in log in this app | Not a device wipe |
Use that table when a listing says lock as if one number sealed the handset. Lock the browser, not the whole iPhone, is the accurate sentence. Apple’s door is for the phone. Ours is for this session. The passcode is the key and cannot be recovered. Face ID is faster typing. Stealth Suite is optional theater and wipe at the same door. The rest of iOS still opens for whoever already unlocked the device.
Private Browser IncognitoFree on the App Store. No history, on-device blocking, one-tap erase.
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Frequently asked questions
Does App Lock lock the whole iPhone?
No. App Lock closes Private Browser Incognito until you enter the six-digit passcode or use Face ID. The device passcode is Apple's lock for the phone. Unlocking the iPhone does not open this browser if App Lock is on. Locking the browser does not lock Messages, Photos, or the rest of iOS.
Is App Lock free on Private Browser Incognito?
Yes. App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free for everyone in the shipping default. Stealth Suite is a separate, optional kit for a decoy passcode, panic code, break-in log, self-destruct, and an encrypted vault. The lock is the door. The paid kit changes what happens at the door.
What happens if I forget the app passcode?
The six-digit passcode is never stored. It becomes the key. Forgotten passcodes cannot be recovered. If you forget it, data sealed under it is permanently inaccessible, by you or by us. There is no reset email because there is no account. If Face ID is still enabled you can unlock with it and then change the code.
Is Face ID the same as the six-digit passcode?
No. The passcode is the key. Face ID is convenience unlocking while you have it enabled. When the sensor matches, the real session opens. When it does not, you type the six digits. Face ID is not a second key we hold and not a recovery product. It cannot reconstruct a forgotten passcode.
Does locking the browser lock Messages and Photos?
No. App Lock is for this app. Messages, Photos, Mail, and the rest of iOS stay under Apple's device passcode and Apple's app permissions. Someone who can use the unlocked phone can still open those apps. They should meet a closed browser if they do not know the app code. That is the point on a shared device.