Tattoo Studio Pro has a kiosk lock built into both the web and mobile apps. When the app is locked, the Home screen acts as a client-facing kiosk: just your studio logo and three buttons (Portfolios, New Client, Returning Client). When a team member unlocks it with their PIN, the full app opens up. This is what makes a tablet at the front desk safe to leave unattended for clients, and what makes a workstation safe to step away from between sessions.
This article covers what the lock does, how to unlock it on each platform, the auto-lock preference, how to set up a tablet as a counter kiosk, and a few security notes.
What the Kiosk Lock Does
When the app is locked, every route in the app redirects to the Home screen. The Home screen itself shows only the parts a client should see:
- Your studio logo and name
- Portfolios button (browse staff portfolios)
- New Client button (start an intake form)
- Returning Client button (look up an existing client, which itself requires a PIN before showing search results)
- A language selector on mobile, when multiple languages are enabled
That is everything visible. No queue, no calendar, no client records, no settings, no reports, no payment data, no team information. A locked tablet on your front counter is safe for any client to interact with.
What Unlocking Gives You
When a team member unlocks the app with their PIN, the full navigation opens up. What they can access depends on their role:
- Manager: Full access to everything
- Artist: Queue, Appointments, Client Profiles, Forms Archive
- Staff: Queue and Appointments only
- Health Official: Forms Archive only
Each team member has their own PIN, set up when their account is created. See Staff Management for how to invite team members and configure roles.
Unlocking the App
The lock and the PIN entry are the same on both platforms. Only the location of the unlock control differs.
On Web
Tap the lock icon in the sidebar. A PIN entry modal opens. Enter your PIN to unlock.
On Mobile
Tap the menu icon in the top-left corner of the Home screen. A PIN entry modal opens. Enter your PIN to unlock.
Once unlocked, you can navigate freely within the parts of the app your role allows. The lock state is per-device, so unlocking on one device does not unlock on another.
Locking the App Manually
Whenever you want to step away and lock the device for the next client (or just to keep the screen safe), tap the same lock control:
- Web: lock icon in the sidebar (same icon you used to unlock; it toggles)
- Mobile: menu icon in the top-left corner
The app immediately returns to the Home screen and gates access until the next PIN entry.
Auto-Lock Preference
When auto-lock is on, the app automatically locks itself the moment you navigate back to the Home screen. The Home screen is where clients interact with the app, so any time you return to it, the app secures itself.
The setting lives at Settings > Preferences, labeled “Auto-lock on Home Screen”. The description in the app reads “Automatically lock the app when returning to the home screen. Disable this on personal devices where manual locking is preferred.”
New accounts ship with auto-lock off. As of v4.2, fresh signups (Email, Google, and Apple paths) start with auto-lock disabled so first-time exploration of the app isn’t gated by the staff PIN modal. The setting is still per-device, so when you later add a tablet to the front counter you can turn auto-lock on for that device while leaving your phone or laptop alone.
When auto-lock is on (default)
- Returning to
/(Home) immediately locks the app - A team member must re-enter their PIN to unlock
- Best for: shared front-desk tablets, devices clients can touch, anywhere you want a clean kiosk handoff
When auto-lock is off
- The app stays unlocked until you manually lock it
- Returning to Home does NOT trigger a lock
- Best for: a personal phone or laptop where you want to navigate freely without re-entering your PIN every time
This is a per-device preference, stored in local storage on the device you change it on. Disabling auto-lock on the front-desk tablet does not affect your phone or laptop.
It is NOT a timer. The app does not auto-lock after N minutes of inactivity. The lock fires the moment you return to the Home screen with auto-lock enabled.
Setting Up a Tablet as a Counter Kiosk
The most common way studios use the kiosk lock is on a tablet at the front counter. Here is the setup that works:
- Install the mobile app on the tablet (iOS or Android)
- Sign in as a team member (typically the manager, since you’ll need access to settings)
- Open Settings > Studio Profile and confirm your studio name and logo are set up. These show on the kiosk Home screen.
- Open Settings > Preferences and confirm Auto-lock on Home Screen is on (it is by default)
- Optional: enable multiple languages under Settings > Form Editor > Preferences if your client base needs them. The mobile Home screen will show a language picker to clients.
- Navigate back to the Home screen. Auto-lock kicks in immediately and the device is now in client kiosk mode.
- Place the tablet at your counter in a stand or holder. Clients can tap New Client or Returning Client to start their intake.
- When a team member needs the app, they tap the menu icon top-left, enter their PIN, do their work, then return to Home (or lock manually) when done.
That is the whole setup. You can also use a web browser on a desktop or tablet the same way, with the lock control in the sidebar instead of the top-left.
Security Notes
A few things worth understanding about what the lock does and does not protect:
What the lock protects
- Visual access to the app’s management views from anyone who picks up the device
- Accidental access (a client tapping around)
- Brief unattended use of a workstation between sessions
What the lock does NOT protect
- It does not log out the team member. The session is still active under the hood. Lock is a privacy gate over the UI, not a session revocation.
- It does not stop someone with a valid PIN from unlocking. Anyone who knows a team member’s PIN can unlock the app.
- It does not revoke access for a former employee. To actually stop someone from being able to sign in or unlock, deactivate their team profile (see Staff Management > Permissions > Deactivate Account).
Lock vs. Deactivate
- Lock is a per-device, temporary state. The screen is gated until the next PIN entry.
- Deactivate is an account-level, permanent action. The team member can no longer sign in at all.
Use lock for moment-to-moment privacy. Use deactivate when someone leaves the studio.
Troubleshooting
I can’t unlock, my PIN doesn’t work
- Confirm you’re entering your own PIN, not a shared studio PIN
- Ask a manager to check your team profile and reset your PIN if needed
- Make sure the team account is Active, not Inactive (deactivated accounts cannot unlock)
The app keeps locking when I navigate
- That’s auto-lock doing its job. Returning to the Home screen triggers the lock by default.
- If you don’t want this on the device you’re using, go to Settings > Preferences and turn off Auto-lock on Home Screen. This is a per-device setting.
The app does not lock automatically
- Auto-lock only fires when you navigate to the Home screen. It is not a timer.
- Confirm Settings > Preferences > Auto-lock on Home Screen is enabled on this device.
- To lock manually any time, tap the lock icon (web sidebar) or the menu icon (mobile top-left).
A client tapped Returning Client and saw the search modal
- Returning Client requires the PIN before any search results are shown, even when the app is locked. The client can tap the button but cannot see anyone unless a team member enters a PIN.
I want to sign out a former employee but they still appear in the Devices list
- The Devices list (now at
account.tattoostudiopro.com/devices) is a sign-in log, not an access control panel. Deleting a row does not sign anyone out. To truly revoke access, deactivate the team profile from Team Management. See the Devices and Staff Management articles.
Related Docs
- Dashboard and Home Screen: what the locked Home screen looks like and how clients use it
- Staff Management: inviting team members, setting roles, deactivating accounts, PINs
- Devices: the device list and what it does and does not control
- Settings: the Preferences page where Auto-lock lives