Bag Guard
A siren at full volume
A loud, piercing sound and the screen at maximum brightness. Thieves look for a bag nobody is watching. The noise makes everyone look.
Anti-theft alarm for iPhone and iPad
Someone moves your bag, and the phone inside starts screaming.
Put your iPhone in your backpack, arm it with one tap and go for a swim. When someone picks the bag up, the phone warns first, then plays a siren at full volume and lights up the screen for the whole beach to see.
First 3 armings free, no card needed. iOS 15 or later.
How it works
- Arm it. Set how many seconds you need to put the phone away and tap “Arm the alarm”. The phone counts down while you slip it into the bag.
- It watches. The screen dims and the motion sensor listens. A waiter brushing past gets a short warning. Your bag in someone else’s hands gets the siren.
- Only you can stop it. Triple-click the lock button, then Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Nobody else can close the app or turn the phone down.
What it does
A warning first
A single bump gets a few seconds of warning, and once the motion stops the phone goes back to guarding. A fourth movement within 30 seconds sets off the siren straight away.
Nobody can silence it
Guarding runs inside Guided Access, built into iOS. The volume buttons and the side button do nothing, and the app cannot be closed.
Off in seconds
Three clicks, Face ID, done. Click during a warning and the app adds 10 seconds so you have time to unlock.
Knows where the sound goes
Earbuds, a helmet intercom or CarPlay would take the siren away. The app checks before arming and asks you to switch the sound to the phone’s speaker.
Reminds you about volume
Before arming it checks the volume is at maximum, and warns you when the battery is low or the phone got hot in the sun.
iPhone and iPad
The instructions show the button where it is on your device: on the side of the iPhone, the Home button, or the top of the iPad.
No personal data
No account, no ads, no tracking. The motion sensors run only while guarding, and their readings never leave the phone.
The app speaks English, Polish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and Arabic.
Where it helps
The beach, while you swim
A gym locker room without a lock
A café, while you step away
The library
A concert or festival, backpack at your feet
Hostels and shared rooms
On a bus, a train or a boat, the rocking alone can set off the alarm. Keep the bag on your lap there.
Step-by-step setup
Once, in Settings
Bag Guard guards only inside Guided Access, a mode built into iOS. You turn it on once. The app shows it with animations, and here is the whole thing in order:
- On the Home Screen swipe down, type “guided access”, tap the result and turn the switch on.
- Further down on the same page: Display Auto-Lock → Never, so the phone does not fall asleep in the bag.
Every time
- Open Bag Guard and turn the volume all the way up. The siren plays as loud as you set it now.
- Quickly triple-click the lock button (the Home button on older iPhones, the top button on iPad).
- The first time, iOS asks you to set a passcode. Then in Session Settings turn off the side button, volume buttons and time limit, leave the rest. iOS remembers it for next time. Done → Start.
- Tap “Arm the alarm” and put the phone in the bag before the countdown ends.
- To turn it off: three clicks, passcode or Face ID, End. The alarm stops by itself and the app returns to the arming screen.
Apple Pay popped up? That was 2 clicks, or too slow: try again, 3 quick clicks. If Apple Pay shows up again, Guided Access is not on yet: go back to “Once, in Settings”.
Pricing
Try it first. The first 3 armings are on us, with no card and no trial to cancel.
Day
24 hours of protection. Pay once, nothing renews.
Week
For a holiday. A subscription that renews every week.
Month
A subscription that renews every month.
Best value −80%3 days free
Year
At least 80% cheaper than paying monthly, in every country. Renews every year. 3 days free for new subscribers.
You see prices in your currency in the app before you buy. Cancel in your iPhone’s Settings or with one button in the app, at least a day before renewal. Payments and refunds are handled by Apple.
FAQ
Will Bag Guard stop a thief?
It will not stop someone determined, just like a car alarm does not. It deters, because thieves go for things nobody is watching, and the siren makes everyone around look. For the worst case, turn on Find My as well.
Can a thief just switch the phone off?
In Guided Access the side button and volume buttons do nothing, so a normal shutdown is out. A forced restart with a button combination still works, but that means taking the phone out of the bag, and by then the siren has been going for a while.
What about emergency calls?
During a Guided Access session the iPhone cannot make emergency calls or use Crash Detection. That is how iOS works. End the session with three clicks before you might need them, and near water keep an eye on people, not only on the bag.
I use earbuds or a helmet intercom. Where will the siren play?
The app will not arm while the sound goes to headphones. It shows how to switch it back to the iPhone. If you allow microphone access, the siren moves itself to the phone’s speaker even when headphones connect later. Nothing is recorded.
Will I get an alert on my Apple Watch or by text?
No. iOS does not let an app guarding in the foreground send those alerts. The siren works on the spot, and that is the point: getting the attention of the people next to your bag.
How much battery does it use?
The screen stays on, dimmed, for the whole time it guards, so the battery drains faster than in your pocket. At 20% or less (not charging) the app warns you before arming.
How do I cancel a subscription?
iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Bag Guard, or the button on the “Your protection” screen in the app. Protection lasts until the end of the paid period. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription.
Get Bag Guard
On your phone, tap the button. On a computer, scan the code with your iPhone camera.
