Two Ways to Keep Your Android Phone Secure

With Google getting rid of the lock screen widget (that never was popular) and now replacing it with notifications, there are still a couple of ways by which you can keep your phone secure.

Of course, these methods are scattered in the settings on your phone and which is why you’ll have to look for it.

That said, here are two ways to keep your phone secure:

#1: Adjusting your Notifications

This step will be most familiar to Android users. First, you have to go to main system settings and then the Security menu where you will have to change the screen lock type to a method other than swipe. This could be either PIN, password or pattern. It should be pointed out that if your device is encrypted, you’ll have to enter this code when starting up.

What you will also have to think about is the type of notifications you want on your phone be it sensitive or otherwise. There are three options available: all, only sensitive content or none. And if you want to change this setting in the future, go to the Sound & Notifications menu.

#2: The Smart Lock System

Google recently revamped the Smart Lock System with three new features: trusted devices, places and faces of which the second one is still being rolled out through Google Play Services. This helps you revert to the simple swipe unlock gesture apart from the ones mentioned above.

As the names suggest, trusted devices allows you to specify a NFC tag or a Bluetooth device while trusted places allows you to mention your home and work addresses. Trusted face recognizes your face (a picture is taken during setup) and changes the lock screen to a simple swipe.