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App Switcher previews: why some apps cover your screen

Updated 4 November 2026 · By the FirstHour team

Short answerWhen you open the App Switcher, your iPhone shows a small picture of each open app. If an app's last screen held something private, that picture can show it to anyone looking over your shoulder. Some apps swap their screen for a plain cover for this reason. You can do a little yourself, and FirstHour covers its own screen by default.

What the App Switcher shows

The App Switcher is the view of your recently used apps. Apple says to open it on an iPhone with no Home button by swiping up from the bottom to the middle of the screen and holding until you see it, and on an iPhone with a Home button by double-clicking the Home button. Apple's iOS 14 guide to the App Switcher describes it this way: icons for the open apps appear at the top, and the current screen for each app appears below its icon.

That means a glance at your screen while you switch apps can also be a glance at those pictures.

Why some apps cover the picture

The picture is a copy of what was on screen when you left the app. A banking app might have been showing a balance. A messaging app might have been showing a chat. Some apps notice that they are being put away and show a plain cover in its place, so the small picture shows nothing useful. This is a choice each app makes, and from the outside you can't always tell which apps do it.

What you can do yourself

  1. Go back to a calm screen before you put the phone down. If you were reading a statement or a private chat, move to the app's main page first. This is our advice, and it works for any app.
  2. Open the App Switcher yourself and look. Seeing what others would see tells you which of your apps show their content.
  3. Be careful who holds your unlocked phone. Anyone using it can open the App Switcher too. This is our advice: a passcode and a short auto-lock time are the first defence.
  4. Quitting an app has a small cost. Apple says that if you quit an app from the App Switcher, it might not be able to run or check for new content before you open it again. Do it when you want to, not as a habit.

What FirstHour does

FirstHour covers its own screen the moment you leave it. In the App Switcher you see FirstHour's mountain picture instead of your pictures. This is on by default.

To change it, tap the gear on any tab except the Vault, then go to Settings › Privacy Display. The switch is called Hide app-switcher previews. Turn it off only if you have a reason to.

FirstHour also asks for Face ID or Touch ID, or your iPhone passcode, after 30 seconds away. The Vault locks the moment you leave it. More in App lock and Privacy Display and the feature page.

Small previews inside the Vault are a related matter, covered in why previews and thumbnails are encrypted.

Questions

Does a cover mean the app is locked?

No. A cover only hides the small picture. Whether the app asks for a code when you return is a separate setting, and it differs from app to app.

Should I turn off FirstHour's cover to see my apps more easily?

You can. The cover is there so your pictures don't show by accident, and most people leave it on.

Sources

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