Help with TakeALook

Guided Access is an Apple feature TakeALook can detect but never control. Check Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access is on, that you have set a Guided Access passcode, and that Accessibility Shortcut is enabled. Then triple‑click the side button from inside TakeALook. Test starting and ending it manually before relying on any automation.

Tap the lock icon in the guest controls, confirm, then press and hold — or enter your passcode if you turned that on. If Guided Access is running you must end that first: triple‑click the side button, authenticate, and tap End. TakeALook cannot end Guided Access for you.

There is no reset code and nothing for us to look up — it never leaves your device. If no handoff is running, open Settings inside TakeALook and tap Change Passcode under Protection; it asks for the new four digits, not your old ones. If you are stuck in a handoff, keep trying first — wrong attempts are never locked out. Leaving or force quitting the app will not help, because an active handoff is restored the next time TakeALook opens. The way out is to delete the app and install it again, which clears the stored handoff and leaves your Photos library untouched. Then, before starting another handoff, open Settings → Protection and turn Require Passcode to Exit off or set a new code: the old passcode is kept in the keychain and can survive a reinstall, so it may still be waiting for you. The protection page has the full walkthrough, including what a reinstall costs you.

Double‑click the side button and use Face ID or Touch ID first, if you enabled that. Otherwise force restart the device — press and release volume up, press and release volume down, then hold the side button until the Apple logo appears — and it restarts with Guided Access off. If you set up the Shortcuts automation that starts Guided Access when TakeALook opens, turn that automation off before opening the app again, or it will lock you straight back in. More on all of this on the protection page.

Album browsing needs full photo library access. Under Limited Access, Apple’s PhotoKit does not expose your album structure to any app, so there is nothing for TakeALook to list. Open Settings → TakeALook → Photos and choose Full Access.

That item is stored in iCloud and has not finished downloading. TakeALook will never substitute a different photo to fill the gap — it fails closed on purpose. Connect to a network and use Retry, or move to the next item.

Either the photo has no location recorded, location display is switched off in Settings, or the device is offline. Place names come from Apple Maps and need a connection.

TakeALook keeps the display awake during a session by default. Check Keep the Screen Awake under During Handoff in Settings. It only holds while a handoff is actually running and TakeALook is the app on screen; outside a session your normal Auto‑Lock applies, which is deliberate.

Open Settings inside TakeALook and tap Restore Purchases. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple Account used for the purchase. Full Access supports Family Sharing, so a family member’s purchase can also unlock it for you.

It shows the photos and videos you choose, and nothing else. Pick an album, a date range or a few photos, take out anything you'd rather not show, and hand your phone over. Your guest can swipe, zoom and watch, but can't reach the rest of your library, and getting your phone back takes a press and hold or your passcode. Watch how (0:00)

Open the app and follow the short tour. It shows how a handoff keeps guests to the photos you pick, explains that your photos never leave your phone, asks for access to your Photos library, offers Enhanced Search (you can turn it on later in Settings) and shows how Guided Access can keep guests inside TakeALook. Then you land on Home. Watch how (0:21)

Yes. Tap Try a Demo Handoff on Home to run a handoff with five sample photos. You'll see exactly what a guest sees, and ending it works the same way as a real one. Watch how (0:48)

On Home, tap Choose Photos, tick the photos and videos you want, and tap Add. Check the set, then tap Hand It Over. Choosing photos is free. Watch how (1:11)

Tap Albums & Collections on Home and choose any album, including shared albums and your own. Review the photos, then tap Hand It Over. Recently Added is free; every other album is part of Full Access. Watch how (1:31)

Tap Date & Time Range on Home. Use a quick pick like This Year, or tap the first and last day on the calendar, then tap Continue to Photos. Date and time ranges are part of Full Access. Watch how (1:51)

On the review screen, press and hold a photo and slide left to make it the first photo in the handoff, or slide right to make it the last. Everything outside the range is left out. Clear Photo Range brings it all back. Watch how (2:10)

Before you hand over, tap any photo on the review screen to leave it out; tap it again to put it back. Hide All and Show All change everything at once, so you can also hide everything and pick a few. Watch how (2:30)

Home keeps the album, date range or search you last showed under Recently viewed. Tap Resume to open it again. You can turn this off with Remember Last Selection in Settings. Watch how (2:47)

On the review screen, tap Hand It Over. Your guest starts on an overview of every photo in the set; tapping one opens it full screen, and Show all photos goes back to the overview. Watch how (3:00)

Swipe between the photos you chose, pinch or double-tap to zoom, and play videos, Live Photos and GIFs. A guest can't leave the set, change the album, edit, delete or share anything, or open Settings. Watch how (3:21)

Tap Info to show the date, the place and any caption. Tap the place to open a map, and expand the map to fill the screen. You can hide dates and places in Settings under Guest View. Watch how (3:44)

Tap the play button in the viewer. Press and hold it to choose how long each photo stays up, from 3 seconds to 5 minutes. Settings also lets you pick slide or fade, play videos during the slideshow, and start it automatically. Watch how (4:05)

Tap the lock button in the guest controls, then press and hold until it ends. For more protection, turn on Require Passcode to Exit in Settings, and ending will ask for your four-digit passcode instead. Watch how (4:22)

On its own, TakeALook keeps a guest inside your selection, but normal iOS gestures can still leave the app. Apple's Guided Access keeps the phone in TakeALook until you unlock it. Open Guided Access in TakeALook's Settings for the steps; Home shows whether it's on. Watch how (4:40)

Yes. Select photos in Photos, tap Share, and choose TakeALook. Then open TakeALook: the photos wait on Home as Recently Shared, ready to review and hand over. Sharing from Photos is free. Watch how (5:02)

Type or say what you want on Home, like “the windmill and the flowers” or “my June road trip”. TakeALook finds them on your phone with Apple's on-device model; nothing is uploaded. Turn on Enhanced Search in Settings to search places, captions and keywords too. Asking for photos is part of Full Access. Watch how (5:21)

Yes. Say “Open my June road trip in TakeALook”, or use the TakeALook actions in the Shortcuts app: open photos by description, open an album, or open photos you've selected. Opening photos by description is part of Full Access. Watch how (5:41)

TakeALook is free with Recently Added, chosen photos, sharing from Photos and the full viewer. Full Access is a one-time purchase that adds every album, date and time ranges, and asking for photos in plain words. Tap a locked album, then Unlock for $4.99. It includes Family Sharing, and Restore Purchases in Settings brings it back on a new device. Watch how (5:56)

Choose what guests see (dates, places, the background), keep the screen awake, set the slideshow, require a passcode to exit, set up Guided Access, pick an app icon, and find help for showing photos on a TV. Watch how (6:17)

Yes. On iPad the overview and viewer use the whole screen. On iPhone Duo, open it like a book to show two photos (Sync Pages turns both together), set it on the table in tabletop posture with the details below, or stand it up as a tent with the slideshow facing your guest. Watch how (6:36)