A browser is not a VPN. App Lock keeps the session 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.
Most PIN screens are a password with fewer characters. The app keeps enough of the secret to tell you that you typed it wrong, and enough to email a reset when you forget. App Lock in Private Browser Incognito is the other design. The six-digit passcode is never stored. It becomes the key. There is no reset email because there is no account. If you forget the number, data sealed under it is permanently inaccessible, by you or by us. That sentence is not a policy we might relax for a nice customer. It is the mechanism.
The lock itself is free for everyone in the shipping default. Face ID is convenience on top of that key, not a second key we hold. The device passcode is a different door. Stealth Suite is a different kit. This page keeps those four facts in their own rooms. The walkthrough of the lock as a door is App Lock With Passcode and Face ID. The irreversible support conversation is If You Forget the Passcode There Is No Recovery.
A key, not a stored PIN
The six digits derive the encryption that seals data the lock is meant to protect. We cannot show you the code later. We cannot hash-compare our way to a reset. We cannot look it up. Support can explain the design. Support cannot reach into the phone. If we could open the lock without the code, anyone who pressured us could too. A private browser that omitted a history file but kept a master override would be telling two different stories.
We will not invent exact Keychain API names, Secure Enclave internals, or a cloud vault with our logo on it. The claim is simpler and stricter: the passcode is never stored, and it becomes the key. 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. There is nowhere to send a recovery email from, and nowhere to store a verifier. No account means no forgot-password link. That is the cost of not keeping a copy of the secret.
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. The lock is only as strong as the number you will actually keep, and as honest as the fact that we cannot fish it out of a database that does not exist.
App Lock is free
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 job 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. Purchases, if you later buy Stealth Suite, go through Apple. The free lock does not lapse, because it was never paid. If you are still choosing a browser on architecture rather than on a lock screen screenshot, start with The Best Private Browser for iPhone: What Actually Matters.
Private Browser IncognitoApp Lock is free. The passcode is the key. There is no recovery.
Get the app
Face ID is convenience
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. That is the whole relationship. Face ID is not a backup key we hold, not a second identity on a Private Browser server, and not something we can reset if the passcode is gone. Unlocking with Face ID uses the device’s existing biometrics, with permission you grant in the app.
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. Treat Face ID as faster unlocking for a key you still own. Do not treat the camera as a spare copy of the number.
The narrower split of those two unlocks is Face ID vs Passcode for App Lock. Keep it next to this page if someone in the house thinks a face match can reconstruct a forgotten PIN. It cannot. We cannot reconstruct it either. The digits are the key. Convenience is optional typing.
Not the device passcode
The device passcode (or device Face ID) unlocks the phone. App Lock is a six-digit code that opens this browser or keeps the session closed. 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 point on a shared device: the home screen is not the session. Apple’s lock is for the device. Ours is for this app. We do not receive either one.
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. We cannot force you to pick a different six digits. We can say the jobs are distinct. Mixing them is how people expect Settings to reset this app, or expect a forgotten iPhone passcode flow to unseal tabs. Those flows do not have our key, because we never stored it.
App Lock does not change page loads, search, or the public IP. Your traffic still goes to the sites you visit, to a search engine if you search, and to Apple if you buy Stealth Suite. Locking the icon does not reroute those requests. 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.
No recovery path
There is no reset email. Forgotten passcodes cannot be recovered. If you forget it, data sealed under it is permanently inaccessible. Reinstall is a new app, not a restore. Erase, Auto-Erase, panic, and self-destruct are also permanent. Erased data cannot be recovered, by you or by us. A forgotten key is the same ending reached by a different path: the bits stay sealed, or they leave with the app.
Guessing your own forgotten code is not recovery. In Stealth Suite, too many wrong codes can fire self-destruct: saved tabs are destroyed, and optionally the vault with them. If you know you have lost the digits, stop guessing and use Face ID if it still works, or accept a fresh install. Panic, if you still remember it, will wipe rather than recover. Do not type panic hoping it is a reset. It is the opposite.
Keep a separate copy of anything irreplaceable before you depend on a vault that can vanish with a forgotten key, a panic code, or an uninstall. AES-256 is not a promise that we can reconstruct a file after the key is gone. A refund or a lapse does not unseal a forgotten passcode. The key is still the six digits you set.
Stealth Suite is a different kit
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 stores the real key. 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 you remember opens a clean, empty browser. Real tabs stay hidden. The decoy does not unlock data sealed under a forgotten real passcode. 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. Photos of failed unlocks will not email you the digits you lost.
If you are comparing apps, the key question is simple: is the lock free, is the secret stored, and can anyone recover it. A compact table is more useful than hoping support will make an exception.
| Piece | What it is | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Six-digit passcode | The key. Never stored. No recovery | Not a PIN we can reset |
| Face ID | Convenience unlocking while enabled | Not a second key we hold |
| Device passcode | Unlocks the phone | Does not open this app by itself |
| App Lock | Free in the shipping default | Not Stealth Suite |
| Forgot the code | Sealed data is inaccessible | Not a support reset |
Use the table on this app and on anything else you install. If a product can email you a new PIN, it stored something we refuse to store. Private Browser Incognito is iOS only. The lock is for the person holding the phone, not for the network behind it. Keep the passcode. Treat Face ID as faster unlocking. Do not wait for us to remember a number we never received.
Private Browser IncognitoFree on the App Store. No history, on-device blocking, one-tap erase.
Get the app
Frequently asked questions
Is the App Lock passcode stored anywhere?
No. The six-digit passcode is never stored. It becomes the key. We cannot show it later, email a reset, or hash-compare our way to a new number. There is no account that would receive that email. There is no app server for browsing. If you forget the code, data sealed under it is permanently inaccessible, by you or by us.
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, an encrypted vault, and icon colors. Paying does not unlock the lock. The lock already ships free.
Can you reset a forgotten App Lock passcode?
No. There is no reset email and no support article that reverses the key. Forgotten passcodes cannot be recovered. If Face ID is still enabled you can unlock with it and change the code while you still have a path in. Reinstalling starts a new app. It does not restore sealed data.
Is Face ID the same as the passcode key?
No. Face ID is convenience unlocking so you do not have to type the six digits every time. It is not a second key we can reset. The passcode is the key. Face ID is not a backup we hold, not a cloud identity, and not something support can reconstruct. Treat it as faster unlocking for a key you still own.
Is App Lock the same as my iPhone passcode?
No. Your device passcode unlocks the phone. App Lock is a six-digit code that opens this browser or keeps the session closed. They are distinct. Unlocking the iPhone does not open Private Browser Incognito if App Lock is on. We cannot reset the app code because we never received it.