Hello, Guys welcome back learn How to securely show your COVID-19 certificate on your iPhone. If you need to physically hand over your iPhone to show your COVID-19 immunisation certificate, here’s how to do it swiftly and securely.
If you’re entering a large crowd-filled venue, such as a stadium or a bar, you’re probably familiar with the process of displaying a COVID certificate. This usually entails a venue official scanning a QR code on your iPhone to check it is safe to let you in.
As systems have been implemented to enable these checks with a verifiable certificate within an official app, the situation has gradually improved to make it more user-friendly. Many of these apps allow you to display the certificate within the Apple Wallet, making it accessible with a few button presses.
Because not all apps support Wallet, you’ll have to unlock your iPhone and manually launch the app.
This can be a security issue for iPhone users because you’re effectively leaving the device unlocked and visible in public. You’re also potentially passing it over to someone.
Shortcut Trick
One solution is to use a method described on Twitter by @DLX, which involves building a custom Shortcut in iOS to conduct many activities in quick succession. Three specific things are happening in the Shortcut itself.
First, the iPhone’s display brightness is increased to 100%. Because a QR code will be displayed on the display, it should be nice and bright to be easily readable.
The second step it completes is to launch the app that contains the certificate itself. While Shortcuts can’t always get to the part of the app that displays the scannable code, simply opening the app makes things easier.
Once the app is open, the third step is to enable Guided Access in Shortcuts. By preventing anyone from navigating away from the app, this temporarily locks down your iPhone so that only the currently-displayed app containing the certificate can be viewed.
While tinkering with Shortcuts may be intimidating to those unfamiliar with automation, the method for creating this particular Shortcut is relatively simple, as it only has three main components.
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How to create a Shortcut in iOS to show your COVID certificate and lock it down with Guided Access
- Launch Shortcuts. Tap the Plus icon in the top-right corner of My Shortcuts to add a new shortcut.
- Tap Shortcut Name and give it a descriptive name. This is also something you’ll have to tell Siri, so make it interesting and relevant. If necessary, modify it by tapping the symbol to the left.
- Tap the Add Action button.
- Set Brightness can be found by searching for it in the text field and selecting it.
- Tap the blue 50% and use the slider to increase the value to 100%.
- Enter Open App in the Search for apps and actions box and select it.
- Tap the blue App, then search for and pick the appropriate app to display the certificate.
- Enter Start Guided Access in the Search for apps and activities box and pick it.
- Tap the play button in the bottom right corner of the screen to test the shortcut.
When you activate the Shortcut, the screen will brighten, the app will launch, and Guided Access will be enabled. You may be asked for a passcode in order to exit Guided Access.
You can now pass the iPhone to someone else to scan the certificate. They will be able to use only the selected app and will be unable to quit Guided Access without the passcode.
Tap the power button three times, then input your passcode, to exit Guided Access.
Guided Access can stop others from snooping outside the app.
Triggering the shortcut
All that remains is to devise a method for executing the Shortcut. You can always execute the Shortcut after creating it by opening the Shortcuts app and selecting it, but there are more options.
To begin, ask Siri to utilise it by saying “Hey Siri, [Shortcut Name]” aloud. This is simple, but you may not want to perform it in a crowded area.
A second option is to make it a dedicated icon on your Home Screen.
How to add a Shortcut to the iOS Home Screen
- Open Shortcuts.
- Tap and hold the Shortcut.
- In the pop-up, select Share.
- Select Add to Home Screen.
- Customize the name and icon if required, then tap Add.
A third alternative, as recommended by @DLX, is to use iOS’s Back Tap functionality. You may instantly call the Shortcut by performing a double-tap or a triple-tap without having to navigate the Home Screen at all.