Turn On Developer Mode on iPhone: Not Showing, Turn Off

To turn on Developer Mode on iPhone, open Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the bottom and switch on Developer Mode under Security. iOS asks you to restart; after the restart you confirm once more and enter your passcode. That’s it. It exists on iOS 16 and later.

The catch: plenty of people open Privacy & Security and the switch isn’t there. That isn’t a bug: iOS hides Developer Mode until the phone has a reason to show it. Below: the steps, why the toggle is missing and how to make it appear, why SideStore and AltStore insist on it, whether it’s safe, and how to turn it off again.

How to turn on Developer Mode on iPhone

Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security.
Scroll all the way down. Under Security you’ll see Developer Mode, near Lockdown Mode.
Tap it and switch Developer Mode on.
An alert warns that Developer Mode reduces the security of your device. Tap Restart.
After the phone restarts, unlock it. iOS asks whether you want to turn on Developer Mode: tap Turn On (Apple’s current documentation calls this button Enable) and enter your passcode.

developer mode ios

You do this once. Developer Mode stays on until you switch it off yourself. Once it’s on, a separate Developer section appears in Settings; you don’t need to touch it to run sideloaded apps.

These steps match Apple’s own guide, Enabling Developer Mode on a device.

Developer Mode not showing in Settings? Here’s why

If you scroll to the bottom of Privacy & Security and there’s no Developer Mode, one of these is the reason.

Nothing developer-signed has reached the phone yet. This is the usual one. Apple’s documentation says Developer Mode only appears in Settings once the device has started pairing with a Mac for development, or was paired before. In practice there’s a second trigger that sideloaders hit far more often: installing an app signed with a developer certificate. Install the app you actually want first, tap it once (iOS will refuse to open it and mention Developer Mode), then go back to Privacy & Security. The toggle is there now.

Your iPhone is on iOS 15 or earlier. Developer Mode arrived with iOS 16. On older versions there’s nothing to turn on, and development-signed apps run without it.

You’re looking in the wrong screen. Developer Mode is not in General → VPN & Device Management. That screen is where you trust the developer profile of a sideloaded app, which is a separate step (some tools need both). Developer Mode lives only in Privacy & Security, at the very bottom.

If you’ve done all three and it still isn’t there, close Settings completely and open it again. If that doesn’t help, see the support note at the end.

”Developer Mode required”: SideStore and AltStore

If you sideload with your own Apple ID, the app is signed with a development certificate, exactly like an app a developer is testing. Since iOS 16, the phone wants you to confirm that you’re fine running that kind of software. When you open such an app with Developer Mode off, iOS shows an alert saying the app requires Developer Mode to run and won’t be available until you enable it.

That’s why both tools put it in their setup:

SideStore. Its install guide has you trust your Apple Account in General → VPN & Device Management (on iOS 18 and later the button is Allow & Restart, confirmed with your passcode), then turn on Developer Mode in Privacy & Security and let the phone restart, and only then connect LocalDevVPN and open SideStore.
AltStore. The AltStore guide states it plainly: to use AltStore on iOS 16 or later, you need to enable Developer Mode.

So if SideStore or AltStore says Developer Mode is required, follow the steps above. The toggle will be there, because installing SideStore or AltStore is exactly the action that makes it appear.

About “Developer Mode enabler” IPAs. You’ll find IPAs that promise to turn Developer Mode on for you. Per Apple, turning it on takes the switch in Settings, a restart and your passcode. That confirmation from you is the whole point, so an app can’t do it on your behalf. What any development-signed app does is make the toggle show up, and the app you actually wanted does that just as well. There’s no reason to install a random IPA just to reveal a menu.

Do you need Developer Mode for builds.io?

Yes, once. builds.io signs apps for your specific device, and iOS asks for Developer Mode after your first install, the same as with SideStore or AltStore. Our device-ready email lists it as the one setup step before you start. If you’ve installed apps from builds.io before, it’s almost certainly on already.

The difference is everything around that switch. There’s no computer and no pairing: you install from the catalog in Safari. Apps don’t expire after seven days and there’s no three-app limit. One thing to expect when you add a new device: Apple processes it before apps go live, usually within a day, sometimes up to three. It happens once.

To find Developer Mode on a new phone, start an install from the builds.io catalog (you need an active subscription and a device in active status), tap the app once, then come back to the steps above.

Is Developer Mode safe?

Apple is direct about it: Developer Mode exists to protect people from installing potentially harmful software by accident, and turning it on reduces the security of your device. App Store and TestFlight installs work the same either way; the switch only governs development-signed apps.

In practice, the switch doesn’t install anything, and it doesn’t change how App Store apps behave. What it removes is a barrier: with Developer Mode on, development-signed apps can run on your phone. So the real question is where your apps come from. Install IPAs from sources you trust, and if you stop sideloading, turn Developer Mode off.

Developer Mode isn’t a modification of iOS. It’s a setting Apple ships in every iPhone on iOS 16 and later. If you’re worried about your Apple ID or warranty, we cover that in can you get banned for sideloading.

How to turn off Developer Mode on iPhone

Open Settings → Privacy & Security.
Scroll to the bottom and tap Developer Mode.
Switch it off and restart the phone.

Know what happens next: development-signed apps won’t open while Developer Mode is off. That includes apps from SideStore, AltStore and builds.io. They stay on the phone and open again as soon as you turn Developer Mode back on with the steps at the top.

Still stuck?

Can’t find the toggle? Install a sideloaded app first and tap it once, then check Privacy & Security again.
Problems after the restart? Go back to Privacy & Security and check that the switch is on. If iOS didn’t ask you to confirm with your passcode, toggle it again and repeat the restart.
Still nothing? If you’re a builds.io user, record your screen while you try to turn on Developer Mode and send it to our support team. We’ll take it from there.

Developer Mode FAQ

Can I turn on Developer Mode without a computer? Yes. The switch is on the phone itself. A computer only matters if you’re using one to sideload: Apple’s documented way to reveal the toggle is pairing with a Mac, while installing a development-signed app over the air reveals it too.

Does turning on Developer Mode delete anything? No. Your apps and data stay put; the phone just restarts.

Do I need it for App Store apps? No. App Store and TestFlight apps work the same with Developer Mode on or off.

Is it on iPad too? Yes, in the same place, Settings → Privacy & Security, on iPadOS 16 and later.

Ready to install the apps you came for without the weekly refresh? Browse the builds.io catalog.