How to disable touch screen input on phone

If accidentally touching your phone screen makes you uncomfortable, consider disabling the touch screen in certain situations. Whether you use an iPhone or an Android device, read on to learn the exact steps to take back control and prevent disruptions.

Disable touch screen input on Android

If you own an Android device, you'll need to download a third-party app to disable the touch screen. The article recommends that you use Touch Lock, this tool is quite easy to install. Here's what to do:

1. (Free, premium version available)

1. After installation, launch the application and click Enable .
2. Select Touch Lock from the list and enable the Allow display over other apps option .
3. If you want to lock the notification panel as well as the volume buttons, turn on Advanced Lock and give the app the necessary permissions by tapping Touch Lock and turning on the Use Touch Lock slider .
4. Return to the app and tap SHOW . The lock icon will now appear on the right side of the screen.
5. Go to the app you want to disable the touch screen, then tap the lock icon to lock it.
6. To unlock the touchscreen, double-tap anywhere to display the lock icon, then double-tap the lock icon.

Disable touch screen input on iPhone

iPhone comes with a lot of accessibility features and the ability to disable touch screen input is one of them. Named Guided Access , this feature allows disabling certain areas of the screen and even locking physical buttons. Here's how to turn on Guided Access:

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access .
2. Turn on Guided Access .
3. Tap Passcode Settings and set the passcode used to end Guided Access. You can also use Touch ID/Face ID to exit Guided Access.
4. Go back to the previous menu and turn on Accessibility Shortcuts . This allows triple-clicking the Side or Home button to enter Guided Access at any time.

Once enabled, here's how to start a Guided Access session:

1. Open the application you want to lock.
2. Triple-click the Side (or Home) button to enter Guided Access.
3. Circle the areas on the screen you want to disable. If you want to disable touch on the entire screen, draw around the entire screen area.
4. Tap Options in the lower left corner to disable Side Button or Volume Button .
5. Select Done to save your changes and tap Start in the upper right corner to begin Guided Access.

Disabled areas of the screen will be gray and unresponsive to any touch.

To exit Guided Access, triple-click the Side (or Home) button. Enter your Guided Access passcode or use Touch/Face ID to exit.

Disabling the touchscreen may be useful to prevent accidental touches while recording video or to avoid abuse by children. While you'll need to download a third-party app if you have an Android device, this feature is natively available on iPhone thanks to Guided Access. Either way, you'll be able to lock your phone's touchscreen without much effort.