It can be felt it’s frustrating to type in your password every time you sit down at your laptop or scan your fingerprint every time you want to log into your phone, but these security measures are the most important on your device.
Lock screen security is what stands between strangers, thieves, eavesdropping co-workers, overly nosy roommates and all other unauthorized visitors and your personal data. Think about it: Once your phone is unlocked, access to your social media, your emails, your documents, your photos and more is just a few taps away.
Fortunately, the makers of major operating systems are working hard to strike the right balance between security and convenience when it comes to lock screens. Here’s how to stay safe without making logging in too much of a chore.
Android
Different Android devices come with different ways to unlock, including face scanning and fingerprint reading, so the options you see will vary depending on the make and model of your phone. What’s more, each Android vendor offers a slightly different version of the software that gets installed on their phones.
When it comes to the latest version of Android that Google is rolling out to its Pixel phones, you can find the lock screen options by opening the main settings panel and selecting security and after that Screen lock— then the various options available on your phone will be displayed. Most phones use a PIN as a default option or as a fallback option, but that’s up to you.
Once the screen lock is configured, you can customize it by tapping the gear icon next to it Screen lock on security screen. Here you can choose how long your phone waits before it locks automatically: Shorter time is better because there is less chance that someone else can pick up your phone and access your data before it locks on the screen is activated.
From security menu, choice Advanced settings and after that Smart Lock to get a little more creative with your lock screen setup. Here you can set your phone to unlock automatically when it’s connected to a trusted device (like your car’s Bluetooth stereo) or when it’s in a trusted place (like your home – where a stranger is less likely to swipe your handset and attempt to access it).
iOS
As with Android, your options on iOS will vary: some iPhones come with Touch ID, for example, and others don’t. We’ll give you instructions on the latest iOS software running on the latest iPhones with Face ID, but the process is very similar for iPhones with Touch ID instead (and indeed for iPads).
