iOS Kiosk mode

Kiosk mode turns an iPhone or iPad into a dedicated Home Assistant display. It is designed for wall-mounted tablets, kitchen displays, bedside panels, and any setup where the device should stay on and show a single dashboard.

When kiosk mode is on, the app opens a chosen server and dashboard, can hide the Home Assistant sidebar and dashboard controls as well as the iOS status bar, keeps the screen awake, can reload the dashboard on a schedule, and shows a screensaver after a period of inactivity. A small, configurable button provides discreet access back to the kiosk settings, optionally protected by Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.

info

Kiosk mode is iOS-only. Android users can achieve a similar setup with the Home App (launcher) feature.

Requirements

• An iPhone or iPad running 2026.7.0+ version of iOS or iPadOS.
• The Home Assistant Companion app with the Kiosk mode Labs feature.
• To hide the sidebar and top bar controls, a version of Home Assistant whose frontend supports kiosk mode.
• Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode set up on the device, if you want to require authentication to open the kiosk settings.

Enabling kiosk mode

1. Open the Home Assistant app.
2. Go to Settings > Kiosk mode.
3. Turn on Enabled.

Display

The Display section controls what is shown when the app opens in kiosk mode.

• Server: The Home Assistant server to display.
• Dashboard: The dashboard to open. Choose Default to open the server's default dashboard (the one Home Assistant would normally open for you).

The chosen server and dashboard are the ones shown whenever the app opens in kiosk mode.

Authentication

Turn on Authentication to require Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode before the kiosk settings can be opened. With this on, the settings are covered by a lock screen until you authenticate, so others cannot change the configuration or leave kiosk mode.

Customization

The Customization section controls how the kiosk behaves while it is running.

• Keep screen on: Prevents the device from auto-locking, so the screen stays on. When off, the device follows its normal Auto-Lock setting from iOS Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.
• Hide sidebar and top bar controls: Hides the Home Assistant sidebar and the dashboard's edit, add, and search controls for a cleaner, read-only display. This relies on the Home Assistant frontend, so it requires 2025.2.0+ version of Home Assistant.
• Hide status bar: Hides the iOS status bar (time, battery, Wi-Fi indicator) at the top of the screen.
• Auto reload: Reloads the dashboard automatically on a schedule. Choose Never or an interval from 1 minute to 1 hour.
• Screensaver: Opens the screensaver settings (see Screensaver below).

note

On iPad, when the app is running in Split View or Slide Over, iOS does not allow apps to hide the status bar. Run Home Assistant full-screen for the most immersive kiosk experience.

Configuration access

Because kiosk mode hides the usual navigation, a small button is shown on top of the dashboard to get back to the kiosk settings.

• Kiosk settings entry position: Choose which corner the button appears in — Top leading, Top trailing, Bottom leading, or Bottom trailing.

Tapping the button opens the kiosk settings directly. If Authentication is on, you must authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode first. You can also always reach the settings from Settings > Kiosk mode.

Screensaver

After a period of inactivity, the screensaver replaces the dashboard with a lower-power display. Touching the screen wakes it back up to the dashboard.

In the Screensaver screen:

• Enabled: Turn the screensaver on or off.
• Mode: Choose what the screensaver shows:
  • Clock: A full-screen clock.
  • Dim: Keeps the dashboard visible but dimmed.
  • Blank: A black screen. The most power-efficient option, and the best choice for OLED displays.
• Time to start: How long the device must be untouched before the screensaver activates, from 30 seconds to 1 hour. Choose Push notification controlled to disable the inactivity timer entirely and only show or hide the screensaver through remote commands.
• Dim level: When Mode is set to Dim, controls how bright the screen stays.

When Mode is set to Clock, you can also adjust:

• Clock style: Large, Medium, or Small.
• Show date: Show the current date below the time.
• Show seconds: Show seconds on the clock.

Use the Preview button to see the screensaver full-screen with your current settings. Tap anywhere to return to the settings.

Remote commands

While kiosk mode is running, you can control it from Home Assistant by sending a notification whose message is a kiosk command. This is useful for automations — for example, showing the screensaver at night, or bringing a camera up on a wall panel when motion is detected.

important

Kiosk commands are only handled while the Companion app is open and in the foreground — the normal state for a wall-mounted kiosk. They are ignored while the app is in the background or closed.

The available commands are:

message	Action
kiosk_show_screensaver	Show the screensaver immediately. Requires screensaver enabled in kiosk settings.
kiosk_hide_screensaver	Hide the screensaver and reset the inactivity timer.
kiosk_show_camera	Show a full-screen camera stream. Requires an entity_id pointing to a camera. entity.
kiosk_hide_camera	Hide the camera stream.
kiosk_set_brightness	Set the screen brightness. Requires level, a percentage from 0 to 100.
kiosk_set_volume	Set the system volume. Requires volume, a percentage from 0 to 100.
kiosk_reload	Reload the dashboard.
kiosk_default	Return to the configured kiosk server and dashboard (or the server default when no dashboard is set). Useful to make sure the kiosk is back on its main dashboard after someone has navigated away.

automation:
  - alias: Show the front door camera on the kiosk
    trigger:
      ...
    action:
      - action: notify.mobile_app_<your_device_id_here>
        data:
          message: "kiosk_show_camera"
          data:
            entity_id: "camera.front_door"

These commands are only acted on when Accept kiosk remote commands is enabled in the kiosk settings (on by default). Turn it off on any device that should ignore remote kiosk commands. See Notification Commands for the full list of supported commands.

Disabling kiosk mode

1. Open the kiosk settings using either method:
   • Tap the configuration-access button in the corner you chose.
   • Go to Settings > Kiosk mode.
2. If Authentication is on, authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.
3. Turn off Enabled.

Troubleshooting

The sidebar or dashboard controls aren't hiding

• Hide sidebar and top bar controls depends on the Home Assistant frontend. Make sure your Home Assistant is 2025.2.0+ to support kiosk mode.

The status bar isn't hiding

• iOS does not allow apps to hide the status bar when running in Split View or Slide Over. Make sure Home Assistant is running full-screen.
• Make sure Hide status bar is on in the Customization section.

The screen still turns off

• Make sure Keep screen on is on. While it is on, kiosk mode overrides the system Auto-Lock setting.
• If the device is plugged in but still sleeping, check for any device management profiles or Screen Time limits that might be forcing the screen off.

I can't find the way back to the settings

• The configuration-access button is shown in the corner selected by Kiosk settings entry position. If the screensaver is showing, tap once to wake the screen first, then tap the button.
• You can always open the settings from Settings > Kiosk mode.