Out of the box, your Android phone is open to a lot of door data collection. The good news is that it takes only a few minutes to change it and start protecting your privacy without affecting it.
7
Hide information on lock screen
You probably don’t think twice when a notification pops up on your lock screen – but you need. By default, even when the Android phone is locked, the messages, emails and apps on the lock screen display the entire content of the alert. This means that your sensitive information may be visible to the nose strangers to anyone who keeps a public transport or watching your phone.
The good news is that you can fix it in seconds. Go to Settings> Notification> Lock Screen NotificationAnd then choose HideIf you hide the ingredients for a specific app instead, you can do this from the same menu.
This should make your lock screen information more private. Meaning, when something comes in, you will get a information, but the message will remain private until you unlock your phone.
6
Use app pinning or guest mode
Do you ever hand over your phone to a friend or even your children and suddenly get nervous when they start swiping around? When the app pinning can save the day. This lets you lock your phone only on one app, so the screen keeps until you decide to unlock it.
App pinning is not turned on by default on most Android phones, but it is easy to set. Go to Settings> Security> More Safety Settings> App PinningAnd switch to both Use app pinning And Ask for pin before unpainmentAfter that, just open the app you want to pin, hit the recent app button, tap on the app icon, and choose pin,
If the pinning sounds very limited, you can use guest mode on your Android phone instead. It uses your phone with restricted access to someone and keeps hiding your personal data. Most Android devices support this feature, although it is not available on the Samsung Galaxy phone.
You can usually find under guest mode Settings> System> Many usersFrom there, simply add a guest user and switch whenever you need. If you often hand over your phone to your children, consider creating a separate profile on your phone for them. This will allow them to set their own home screen, apps and settings without impressing you.
5
Option to send diagnostics data
By default, your Android phone quietly communicates with Google in the background, sends clinical and use data in the name of “improvement in Android”. Although it may seem helpful, it often means that your phone is sharing you too much as you can feel: How you use your device, which app you open and how often, how often, your network status, and even details about permission settings.
If you are quietly reporting to Google with your phone, it is best to get out. Don’t worry; Doing so will not make a mess with the performance of your phone or stop things from working. To disable it, go to Settings> Security and Privacy> More Privacy Settings> Uses and Diagnosis And flip to the togle.
Note that many phone manufacturers also collect their own diagnosis, separate from Google. When you are already in settings, it is a good idea to check the manufacturer-specific privacy options of your device and disable any data collection features you found.
4
Disable advertising tracking
One of the more subtle methods your Android phone compromises your privacy, through advertising tracking. Outside the box, Google provides a unique advertising ID to your device. You can think of it as a digital name tag that helps apps and advertisers to create a profile based on your habits, interests and behavior. Your name is not included in this ID, but it is still closely associated with you. Over time, it can be used inadvertently to give personal advertising or even sell insight into your digital life.
Thankfully, you can only close it with a few taps. Go to Settings> Safety and Privacy> More Privacy Settings> Advertisement PrivacyAnd disable all three options. After that, return to the previous menu, tap Remove advertising idThis will not stop advertisements on your phone, but it will reduce them less.
3
Check Google Account Settings
Your Android phone is closely connected to your Google account, and it is the place where a stunning amount of your personal data is being collected and shared. For example, Google tracks things such as your search history, location, voice command and YouTube activity.
To prevent all this, first go to myaccount.google.com and click on Data and privacyScroll History settings And stop Web and app activity, TimeAnd YouTube historyWhen they are turned on (and they are usually by default), Google stores a time -line of your every step, what you find, apps you use, and even what you see.
If you really want to go into all, there are ways to stop Google from tracking your Android phone. But for most people, the easiest location to start is to adjust only account settings so that how much data can be collected to Google.
2
Review app permissions
Sometimes, the excitement or crowd of trying a new app or game. You hit the “installed”, quickly leave the permissions through the screen, and suddenly the app has access to your location, camera, microphone and even your contacts.
This is a real problem. Many apps request high access that they do not really need, and most of the time, it does not pay attention to anyone. A flashlight app does not require your location. A photo editor has no business to check your call log. But this happens all the time.
This is why it is worth taking a few minutes every time to audit your app permissions. Android actually gives you a very easy way to do this. Go to Settings> Safety and Privacy> Permissions Used in Last 24 hoursYou will get a quick snapshot that which apps are tapping in things like your cameras, microphones and GPS. If you want a broad view, tap and switch to the drop-down menu last 7 days,
From there, don’t be afraid to cancel whatever he feels. If the purpose of an app clearly does not explain why it needs access to something, it is completely appropriate to block it.
1
Check which apps using clipboard
You can probably copy more sensitive goods than more sensitive goods- Pastwards, credit card number, address, even images. All this is temporarily stored on your Android phone clipboard. This is convenient, certain, but some apps can know quietly without you.
This means that a random app that you installed for quick one -time use may be able to read the last thing you copyed. Fortunately, Android provides an easy feature that tells you when an app is sinking in your clipboard. Just go Settings> Security and Privacy> Control and AlertAnd turn on Alert when the clipboard is accessed,
Once it is set, you will get a small information, whenever an app tries to read your clipboard. When you present such apps, the best step is to remove them.
Digging through the settings of your phone is not thrilling at all. But the truth is that, most of the Android phones set for convenience and data collection, not privacy. It is worth a few minutes to accommodate those settings so that you can protect your privacy and have some peace of mind.
