Can I disable Home Button on my App? (full screen browser kiosk mode)

Question

I have to put a lot of iPads on a stantd on a tourist fair to show our web, and we don\'t want that people can use these iPads to play/enter facebook/etc. Is for this that I

Answer 1

Blocking home button access is desirable where these units are used commercially as promotional displays or in point of sale environments. It would be useful, actually, if Apple licensed developers of point of sale apps to be able to do this - it would be no problem for this function to be specific to registered ipad units....and it would also make the ipad less of a theft target. it would be useless to anyone but the owner. right now the only answer is to physically cover the button in an enclosure, thus concealing Apple's investment in a beautiful product design.

Answer 2

No, you cannot disable the home button. (And thank Apple for that. Who knows how many people would believe that their app is so fantastic that people ought not stop using it ever.)

Why do you need to disable the home button anyway? Why not build a stand for the iPad that blocks access to the home button?

Answer 3

There is no solution for this issue, maybe if you jailbreak your device, there is one, but I don't think so.

Please see: Temporarily Lock or Disable iphone home button

Answer 4

It is possible. But I think Apple may reject your app. I found a link with good explanation here

And this might help also.

1. http://www.akadia.com/services/ssh_test_certificate.html
2. http://www.verisign.com/support/verisign-intermediate-ca/code-signing-intermediate/index.html

Answer 5

More than 4 years after, I found the answer, haha.

I'm not sure since when, but now we can block to use only one app from Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access

After that, we can do triple tap with our app opened, and it will be locked.

Also, we can use Apple Configurator to "Lock to App", but this way required to install a profile in the iPads (it wouldn't be a problem four years ago...).

Answer 6

Probably too late for the OP but for anyone else trying to do this then see my answer here Lock-down iPhone/iPod/iPad so it can only run one app

I had been trying to do the same use case and pretty much everyone on stack overflow is saying it's not possible. Turns out that it is.