Secure screen locks for Android: the best tips

Android offers a number of differently secure screen locks that can be used to protect your smartphone or tablet from unauthorized use. We will give you tips and tell you what to look out for.

Set up screen lock in Android

With Android 4.0, you have a total of five different options for setting up a screen lock. To do this, first select "Settings", then "Screen lock" and then "Select screen lock".

Lock Android with a swipe gesture

With the "Pull" setting, you unlock your smartphone with a simple swipe or pull gesture. This is quite practical and, for example, prevents you from performing functions unintentionally when you carry your smartphone in your pocket, for example. However, this setting does not provide access protection for unauthorized persons.

Lock Android with face detection

"Face Unlock" is the latest screen lock from Android. It works by the front camera of your smartphone taking a picture of you.

• To be able to use Face Unlock, your smartphone must of course have a camera on the front.
• Furthermore, it is necessary that you look at your smartphone when unlocking and that the surroundings are sufficiently illuminated. Otherwise you may not be recognized.
• Google specifically states that Face Unlock is less secure than other screen locks. Unauthorized persons could unlock your smartphone if they look like you or if you have a photo of yourself.
• Overall, Face Unlock is therefore not recommended as safe protection.

Lock Android with pattern

"Pattern" is a pretty popular lock screen for Android. Here you draw a pattern of your choice on the screen with your finger to unlock the smartphone.

• In a field with 3 by 3 points you have to connect at least four points in any order.
• If an incorrect pattern is entered five times in a row, you can only unlock your smartphone with your Google user name and password or with a backup PIN.
• Also keep in mind that all current versions of Android have a security vulnerability that can bypass the pattern lock screen. A few lines of code can break the lock. You can find more information here.
• A pattern that is too light may be difficult to guess with a few tries, especially if you leave fingerprints or a bold trace on the screen.

Lock Android with PIN

"PIN" is another popular way to protect your smartphone from unauthorized access. To unlock, you have to enter a sequence of digits.

• You enter a number code to unlock, which must consist of at least four digits. Letters and special characters are not permitted.
• Make sure that your PIN is not too easy to guess. For example, your date of birth is not very certain.

Lock Android with password

The "Password" setting provides the best protection. Here you can set a password to unlock the screen.

• The password can contain numbers, letters and even special characters. This variant offers the greatest protection, but also means the greatest effort when unlocking.
• Similar to the PIN lock method, you should make sure that your password is not too easy to guess.