The “Today View” on an iPhone is the dedicated screen located to the far left of your primary home screen and lock screen. It acts as a dashboard for your widgets, displaying information such as calendar events, weather forecasts, battery levels, and news headlines. By default, Apple allows anyone to access the Today View by simply swiping right on the locked screen of your iPhone. While convenient for glancing at the weather without unlocking the device, it poses a massive privacy risk. Anyone who picks up your locked phone can immediately view your upcoming appointments, recent text message previews (if exposed via a widget), and financial app summaries.
This guide explains how to completely disable access to the Today View and its widgets from the iOS lock screen, ensuring your personal dashboard remains strictly hidden behind biometric authentication.
Disable Today View on the Lock Screen
Apple manages lock screen permissions through a centralized security menu, allowing you to explicitly block the swipe-right gesture.
- Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode depending on your iPhone model).
- Enter your device’s numerical passcode to gain access to this secure menu.
- Scroll down to the section labelled Allow Access When Locked.
- Locate the toggle switch for Today View and Search (in older versions of iOS, this may simply be labelled Today View).
- Toggle the switch to the Off position (the switch will turn grey).
Once disabled, the change is instantaneous. To verify that your data is secure, press the power button to lock your iPhone. Wake the screen (ensure you do not authenticate with Face ID) and attempt to swipe right. The screen will bounce back, completely refusing to reveal the widget dashboard.
Note on Home Screen Access
Disabling this setting only affects the lock screen. Once you unlock your iPhone via Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode, you can still swipe right from your first home screen to access all your configured widgets normally. This ensures you retain the convenience of the Today View without compromising the physical security of your locked device.