A friendly walk-through of the app, written for parents and caregivers — not for tech experts.
- Welcome
- What your child sees
- Three modes — pick one
- Set a parent password (PIN)
- Lock the app for your child (Guided Access)
- Make your own panels
- Use it on more than one device
- Start over (Clear All My Data)
- Common problems
- Privacy
- More help
iInteract helps a child communicate by tapping pictures that speak words out loud. The app comes with seven ready-made sets of pictures (called panels) covering things like feelings, needs, and everyday activities.
If you want, you can also add your own pictures and record your own voice. That part is the most powerful — but you don't have to use it.
It works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It's free, and nothing tracks your child.
When you hand your child the iPhone:
- They tap a colored panel — for example, "I feel".
- They see a few pictures.
- They tap a picture, and the app says the word out loud.
- They tap Back to return to the main screen.
That's it. No menus, no settings, no buttons that delete things. Out of the box, your child can't change anything.
Apple Watch: if you have one paired to your iPhone, the built-in panels also work on the watch — handy for quick out-of-the-house communication. Works on Apple Watch running watchOS 9 or later (about 95% of currently-active Apple Watches). Custom panels you make stay on the iPhone and iPad.
The app has three modes. You choose one in your iPhone's Settings app, then come back to iInteract.
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Default | Shows everything that came with the app. Nothing can be changed. |
| Configurable | Lets you hide panels you don't want, or change the order. |
| Customize | Lets you do all of the above, plus add your own panels with your own pictures and voice. |
Which one should I pick? If this is your first time using the app, leave it on Default for a few days. Once you know which panels your child actually uses, switch to Configurable to tidy them up. Switch to Customize when you're ready to add personal photos (family, pets, favorite places).
- Open the iPhone's Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap iInteract.
- Tap Mode.
- Pick the mode you want.
- Open iInteract again — your choice takes effect right away.
Don't worry about losing your work. If you make custom panels and switch back to Default later, your panels are saved — they're just hidden until you switch back.
Once you're in Configurable or Customize mode, set a 4-digit PIN. This stops your child from accidentally deleting things or changing settings.
Good news: the PIN doesn't get in your child's way. They can still open panels and tap pictures without it. The PIN only kicks in when you're about to delete, empty trash, or enter the editor.
- Open the iPhone's Settings app.
- Tap iInteract.
- Tap Set PIN.
- Type a 4-digit number.
- Type it again to confirm.
- Pick a security question and type your answer (in case you forget).
- Done — the PIN is now active.
When you're about to do something the PIN protects, you'll see a screen like this:
Type your 4 digits and tap OK. If you forget, tap I forgot and answer your security question.
The PIN keeps your child from changing things inside iInteract. Guided Access — a free feature built into every iPhone and iPad — keeps your child inside iInteract in the first place. While Guided Access is on, the home gesture, app switcher, Control Center, and iOS Settings are all blocked, so a tap that would normally exit the app does nothing. This is the standard way special-education apps recommend handing the device to a child.
You don't have to install or buy anything. Guided Access is built into iOS. Apple's own documentation describes the same steps below.
- Open the iPhone's Settings app.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Scroll down to Guided Access and tap it.
- Turn on the Guided Access switch.
- Tap Passcode Settings → Set Guided Access Passcode and pick a 4-digit code. Use a different code than your iPhone unlock code — this one is just for ending Guided Access.
- Open iInteract.
- Triple-click the side button (or the home button on older iPhones).
- The Guided Access setup screen appears. Optional: drag a finger to draw a circle around any button you want to disable (for example, the gear icon in the top-right corner).
- Tap Options in the bottom-left if you also want to disable hardware buttons (Volume, Sleep/Wake, etc.) or the touchscreen entirely.
- Tap Start in the top-right.
- iInteract is now locked in. Hand the phone to your child — they can tap panels and hear words, but the home gesture and other apps are unreachable.
- Triple-click the side button again.
- Type your Guided Access passcode.
- Tap End in the top-left.
- The phone returns to normal.
When you're in Guided Access setup (step 4 above), tap Options. You'll see an iInteract section with a Lock Editor toggle. Turn it on and the gear icon stops responding to taps for the entire Guided Access session — even without drawing a circle around it. Tapping the gear briefly shows an alert explaining the lock; nothing else happens. This is the most common request from parents who want zero risk of editor access while their child is using the app.
Tip: PIN and Guided Access are independent. You can use either, both, or neither. Most parents end up using both — PIN for quick "I'm just handing over for 30 seconds" cases, Guided Access for "child is using the app for 20 minutes while I'm in the next room."
This is the most useful part of the app for many families. You can make panels using photos of grandparents, your child's bedroom, favorite snacks, anything they need to communicate about. You record the words yourself in your own voice.
- On the main screen, tap the gear icon in the top-right.
- Type your PIN.
- Tap + in the top-right.
- Type a Title — for example, Family.
- Tap the colored Color circle and pick any color you like.
- Tap Add Interaction to start adding pictures (next step).
- When you're done adding pictures, tap Save in the top-right.
Each panel can hold up to 6 pictures. For each one:
- Tap Add Interaction.
- (Optional) Type a Name — like Grandma.
- Tap Picture to choose how you'll add the image:
- Take Photo uses your camera.
- Choose Photo picks from your photo library.
- Bundled Picture picks one that came with the app.
- Tap the red Record button, say the word clearly, then tap Stop. Tap the recording to play it back, or tap Record again to redo it.
- (Optional) Repeat the recording in the other voice slot — there's a "boy" voice and a "girl" voice. You can fill in just one or both.
- Tap Save.
Tip: Record in a quiet room, hold the phone close to your mouth, and say the word clearly. You can re-record anytime by tapping Record again.
- To edit a panel: tap the gear icon, then tap the panel.
- To reorder panels: tap the gear icon, then drag the lines on the right of each panel up or down.
- To delete a panel: tap the gear icon, swipe left on the panel, tap Delete.
Built-in panels can't be deleted, only hidden.
Deleted panels and pictures aren't gone right away — they sit in Trash for 30 days, then are removed for good. To get something back:
- Tap the gear icon and type your PIN.
- Scroll to the bottom of the editor and tap Trash.
- Tap the item, then type your PIN to confirm.
- The item returns to where it was.
To clear the Trash immediately, tap Empty Trash at the bottom (asks for your PIN).
If you have iInteract on more than one device — say an iPhone and an iPad — turning on iCloud keeps them in sync. Add a panel on your iPhone, and it shows up on your iPad a minute later.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap iInteract.
- Turn on iCloud.
- Repeat on your iPad (or Mac).
Both devices need the same Apple ID. If you're not sure, open Settings on each device — your name should be at the top.
A few small things to know:
- Changes can take a minute to show up on the other device.
- Your PIN is set on each device separately. iCloud doesn't share it.
- The Voice choice (boy / girl) is also per-device.
If you want a fresh start — give the iPhone to a new family member, donate the device, or just clean out a panel mess you don't want to fix one row at a time — there's a one-toggle wipe in iOS Settings.
This deletes everything: every custom panel, every picture you took, every voice recording you made, every item in the Trash, and the PIN. The bundled built-in panels are untouched. It also deletes the same data from your iCloud account, so a second iPhone or iPad signed into the same iCloud sees the cleared state too.
- Open the iPhone's Settings app.
- Tap iInteract.
- Turn on Clear All My Data on Resume.
- Open iInteract. The app asks you to confirm with your PIN (if you set one), then wipes everything.
- The toggle automatically turns itself back off so the next launch doesn't re-wipe.
The wipe is permanent. There's no undo and no Trash recovery for items wiped this way (the Trash itself is also cleared). If you might want anything back, restore it from the Trash before triggering the wipe.
"There's no sound when my child taps a picture." Check the iPhone's volume buttons and the silent switch (the small switch on the side of the iPhone, above the volume buttons). If silent is on, you'll see an orange line — flip it off.
"The camera shows a black screen when I try to add a picture." The app needs your permission to use the camera. Go to Settings → iInteract → Camera and turn it on.
"The Photos picker doesn't show all my photos." Go to Settings → iInteract → Photos and choose All Photos.
"The microphone won't record." Go to Settings → iInteract → Microphone and turn it on.
"My PIN isn't working." Type the 4 digits with no spaces. Capital letters and small letters are treated the same.
"I forgot my PIN." On the PIN screen, tap I forgot and answer your security question.
"My iPad isn't seeing changes from my iPhone." Both devices need to be signed into the same Apple ID with iCloud Drive on, and iInteract's iCloud toggle on. Try opening the iPad app — it usually catches up within a minute.
Your panels, pictures, and recordings stay on your devices. If you turn on iCloud, they're stored in your private iCloud account — locked so even Apple can't open them. iInteract has no advertising, no analytics, and no third-party services.
For the full details, see the Privacy Policy.
- For bugs or feature requests, open an issue on GitHub.
- iInteract is open source under the Mozilla Public License v2.