In case you’ve acquired a Pixel or one other telephone that’s utilizing a extra unadulterated Android setup, although, search your system settings for NFC and search for the road labeled “Require system unlock for NFC.” Flip the toggle subsequent to it into the on place, then relaxation simple realizing no method of wi-fi switch can happen when your system is locked.
Android safety setting #8: Lengthen Unlock
Safety is simply helpful when you truly use it — and given the additional stage of inconvenience it usually provides into our lives, it’s all too simple to let our guards down and get lazy after some time.
Android’s Lengthen Unlock function (often called Sensible Lock till Google lately renamed it to drive us all fully batty) is designed to counteract that tendency by making safety a teensy bit much less annoying. It could actually allow you to mechanically preserve your telephone unlocked everytime you’re in a trusted place — like your own home, your workplace, or that weird-smelling restaurant the place you eat barbeque sandwiches virtually disgustingly usually — and even once you’re related to a trusted Bluetooth system, like a smartwatch, some earbuds, or your automotive’s audio system.

JR Raphael, IDG
The precise placement of this method can differ significantly, so the best factor to do is to look your system settings for the phrase lengthen to search out it and discover all of the out there prospects.
And when you ever discover the Trusted Locations a part of Sensible Lock Lengthen Unlock isn’t working reliably, by the best way, right here’s the 60-second repair.
Android safety setting #9: Two-factor authentication
This subsequent one’s technically a Google account safety possibility and never particular to Android, however it’s very a lot related to Android and your general smartphone expertise.
You realize what two-factor authentication is by now, proper? And also you’re utilizing it in all places you may — particularly in your Google account, which might be related to all types of delicate information? RIGHT?!
In case you aren’t, by golly, now’s the time to start out. Hustle over to this official Google 2FA settings web page and observe the steps to set issues up.
For most individuals, I’d suggest utilizing your telephone’s personal “Safety Key” possibility because the default methodology, if it’s out there, adopted by “Google prompts” and an authenticator app as secondary strategies. For that final half, you’ll must obtain and arrange an app like Google’s personal Authenticator or the extra versatile Authy to generate your sign-in codes.
In case you actually need to take your Google account safety to the max, you too can go a step additional and arrange a Google passkey in your telephone for even stronger safety — or buy a selected standalone {hardware} key that’ll management the method and be required for any profitable sign-in to happen.
It’ll add an additional step into your sign-in sequence, however that is one space the place the minor inconvenience may be very a lot definitely worth the tradeoff for enhanced safety.
Android safety setting #10: Lockdown mode
Supplied you’re utilizing a telephone with Android 9 or larger (and when you aren’t, switching over to a present telephone that truly will get lively software program updates must be your prime safety precedence!), an Android setting referred to as lockdown mode is effectively value your whereas to research. As soon as enabled, it provides you a simple strategy to quickly lock down your telephone from all biometric and Lengthen Unlock safety choices — that means solely a sample, PIN, or password can get an individual previous your lock display screen and into your system.
The thought is that when you have been ever in a state of affairs the place you thought you is perhaps pressured to unlock your telephone along with your fingerprint or face — be it by some form of regulation enforcement agent or simply by an everyday ol’ hooligan — you can activate the lockdown mode and know your information couldn’t be accessed with out your express permission. No notifications will ever present up in your lock display screen whereas the mode is lively, and that heightened stage of safety will stay in place till you manually unlock your telephone (even when the system is restarted).
The trick, although, is that on sure telephones — together with most Samsung Android units — it’s important to allow the choice forward of time to ensure that it to be out there. To substantiate that it’s activated in your system, open up your Android settings, seek for the phrase lockdown, and ensure the toggle alongside “Present lockdown possibility” is ready to the on place.
In case you’re utilizing a present telephone and don’t see any outcomes for that search, the choice might be simply mechanically enabled — and also you shouldn’t need to do something to make it out there.
Both means, as soon as the system’s up and working, you need to see a command labeled both “Lockdown” or “Lockdown mode” anytime you press and maintain your telephone’s energy button (or press and maintain the facility button and volume-up button collectively, on sure units). With a bit of luck, you’ll by no means want it. But it surely’s a superb added layer of safety to have out there, simply in case — and now you understand how to search out it.
Android safety setting #11: App pinning
One in every of Android’s most sensible settings can be certainly one of its most hidden. I’m talkin’ about app pinning — one thing launched means again in 2014’s Lollipop period and barely talked about since.
App pinning makes it potential so that you can lock a single app or course of to your telephone after which require a password or fingerprint authentication earlier than the rest may be accessed. It may be invaluable once you cross your telephone off to a pal or colleague and need to make certain they don’t by chance (or perhaps not so by chance) get into one thing they shouldn’t.
To make use of app pinning, you’ll first must activate it by opening that trusty ol’ Safety & Privateness part in your Android settings after which discovering the road labeled “App pinning,” “Display pinning,” or probably “Pin app” or “Pin home windows.” (You’ll in all probability need to faucet a line labeled “Superior settings,” “Extra safety settings,” or “Different safety settings” to disclose it.) Faucet these phrases, no matter they’re in your particular system, then flip the function on and likewise ensure that the toggle to require authentication earlier than unpinning is activated.
Then, the subsequent time you’re about to put your telephone in another person’s grubby fingers, first open up your system Overview interface — both by swiping up from the underside of your display screen and holding your finger down, when you’re utilizing Android’s gesture system, or by urgent the square-shaped button, when you’re nonetheless hangin’ onto the old-school three-button nav setup.
On any telephone working moderately latest software program, you’ll then faucet the icon of the app you need to pin, straight above its card in that Overview space. And there, you need to see the Pin possibility.

JR Raphael, IDG
When you’ve tapped that, you gained’t have the ability to swap apps, return to your own home display screen, take a look at notifications, or do the rest till you exit the pinning and unlock the system. To try this, with gestures, you’ll swipe up from the underside of your display screen and maintain your finger down — and with the outdated three-button nav setup, you’ll press the Again and Overview buttons on the similar time.
Android safety setting #12: Visitor Mode
If you wish to go a step additional and let another person use all elements of your telephone with out ever encountering your private data or having the ability to mess something up, Android has an unimaginable system that’ll allow you to just do that — with subsequent to no ongoing effort concerned.
It’s referred to as Visitor Mode, and it’s been round since 2014, even though most people have fully forgotten about it. For an in depth walkthrough of what it’s all about and how one can put it to make use of, see my separate Android Visitor Mode information.
Simply notice that in case you have a Samsung telephone, that information gained’t do you a lot good — as Samsung has for no obvious cause opted to take away this commonplace working system aspect from its software program (insert tangentially associated soapbox rant right here). On Google’s personal Pixel telephones and most different Android units, although, it’ll take you all of 20 seconds to arrange and prepare.
Android safety setting #13: Discover My Gadget
Whether or not you’ve merely misplaced your telephone round the home or workplace otherwise you’ve truly misplaced it out within the wild, at all times keep in mind that Android has its personal built-in mechanism for locating, ringing, locking, and even erasing a tool from afar.
Like Play Defend, the Android Discover My Gadget function must be enabled by default. You may make positive by heading into the Safety & Privateness part of your Android settings and tapping the road labeled “Discover My Gadget” — or probably first “Gadget finders” and then “Discover My Gadget.” Double-check that the toggle on the prime of the display screen is turned on.
Utilizing a Samsung telephone? Samsung offers its personal superfluous, redundant service referred to as Discover My Cell, however the native Google Android model will carry all of your units — not solely these made by Samsung — collectively right into a single place, and it’s additionally far more versatile in how and the place it’s capable of work. On a Samsung system, the best strategy to discover the Android Discover My Gadget setting is to look your system settings for the phrase Discover My Gadget.
When you’ve confirmed the setting is enabled, when you ever want to trace your telephone down, simply go to android.com/discover from any browser. (There’s additionally an official Discover My Gadget Android app, in case you have one other Android system and need to preserve that operate standing by and prepared.)
So long as you’re capable of signal into your Google account, you’ll have the ability to pinpoint your telephone’s final recognized location on a map and handle it remotely in a matter of seconds.
Discover My Gadget is a incredible useful resource to have — however in sure conditions, you may get a lacking telephone again even quicker with the assistance of a fellow hominid.
Give folks an opportunity to do the fitting factor by including an emergency contact that may be accessed and dialed with a couple of fast faucets out of your telephone’s lock display screen. To start out, go to both the About Telephone part of your Android settings or the Security & Emergency part, in case you have it, after which discover and faucet the road labeled both “Emergency data” or “Emergency contacts.”
Observe the prompts there so as to add in an emergency contact — a detailed pal, member of the family, vital different, random raccoon, or no matter is sensible for you. (Hey, I’m not right here to evaluate.)

JR Raphael, IDG
Straightforward peasy, proper? Nicely, virtually: The one problem is that the emergency contact data isn’t precisely apparent or easy to search out on the lock display screen — go determine — so anybody who picks up your telephone may not even discover it.
However wait! You possibly can enhance the chances significantly with one additional step: Head into the Show part of your settings and faucet “Lock display screen” (which can be hidden inside an “Superior” subsection, relying in your system), then faucet the road labeled “Add textual content on lock display screen.”
Nevertheless you get there, as soon as you end up going through a clean house for textual content enter, enter one thing alongside the strains of: “In case you’ve discovered this telephone, please swipe up after which faucet ‘Emergency name’ and ‘View emergency data’ to inform me” (or no matter particular directions make sense for the required steps on your particular system).
That message will then at all times present up in your lock display screen — and as an added bonus, if there’s ever an precise emergency, you’ll be prepared for that, too.
Utilizing a Samsung telephone? For no obvious cause (sensing a theme right here?), Samsung has eliminated the direct emergency contact system and as a substitute presents solely the flexibility to put plain textual content in your lock display screen. You will discover that, although, by making your means into the Lock Display part of your system settings and in search of the road labeled “Contact data.”
In case you don’t see that possibility, strive as a substitute urgent and holding your finger onto the precise lock display screen in your Samsung telephone after which tapping the road towards the underside labeled “Contact data.”
Nevertheless you get there, you may then sort your emergency contact data straight into that space and hope that somebody finds it and dials it from their very own telephone if the state of affairs ever comes up.
Android safety setting #15: Theft detection
Our last 4 Android safety settings revolve across the worst-case state of affairs of somebody intentionally swiping your system after which attempting to get on the information — whether or not yours or your organization’s — that’s saved inside it.
As of October 2024, Google’s actively within the midst of rolling out a trio of latest Android theft detection security measures which might be designed precisely with this chance in thoughts. The primary, Theft Detection Lock, depends on a mixture of your telephone’s sensors and AI to determine motions generally related to a telephone being forcefully stolen.
If such actions happen, Android immediately and mechanically locks the system in your behalf.
The choice will quickly be current on all Android units working 2019’s Android 10 software program and better. To see if it’s out there for you, head into the Safety & Privateness part of your system settings, faucet “Gadget unlock,” and search for a brand new “Theft safety” part inside that space.

JR Raphael, IDG
And when you don’t see it but, set your self a reminder to test again each week or two till it exhibits up for you. It must be there quickly!
Android safety setting #16: Offline locking
Going hand in hand with that Theft Detection Lock possibility is one other new (as of October 2024) Android safety function referred to as Offline Gadget Lock.
It seems for on-screen behaviors that make it seem like a telephone’s fallen into the unsuitable fingers — like an unusually lengthy interval of Wi-Fi and cell information disconnection or a sequence of failed makes an attempt at getting previous your lock display screen. And if any such exercise is detected, it mechanically locks the system to maintain any intruders out.
This feature is in that very same “Theft safety” part of Android’s Safety & Privateness “Gadget unlock” menu — or a minimum of will be as soon as the related replace makes its strategy to you.
Android safety setting #17: Distant locking
One final late-2024 addition to the Android safety image is one thing Google’s calling Distant Lock. It’s basically an additional strategy to manually and rapidly lock down your system from afar with out having to make use of the full-fledged Android Discover My Gadget system we went over a second in the past.
As soon as extra, this one’s on its means out into the world as of October 2024, so test that “Theft safety” part to see when it turns into out there for you.
Android safety setting #18: SIM card safeguard
Final however not least, in case your telephone ever falls into the unsuitable fingers and its finder has less-than-honorable intentions, you need to do something you may to maintain that particular person from having the ability to take over the system solely.
And also you’d by no means comprehend it, however Android has an often-off-by-default possibility designed to guard you in precisely that means. Or, a minimum of, some Android units do.
Begin by looking out your system settings for SIM. Relying in your system and your particular configuration, you may see a few completely different choices seem within the outcomes — something from “Verify SIM deletion” to “Lock eSIM settings” or “SIM card lock.” In case you see any of these choices, faucet ’em after which observe the next steps to safe that SIM.
It’s virtually shockingly simple to deal with — as long as you could have the foresight to guard your self earlier than the necessity truly arises.
Yet one more factor…
Now that you just’ve acquired your Android safety settings optimized and so as, put aside a little bit of time to carry out an Android safety checkup. It’s an 18-step course of I’ve created for the state of safety on each your telephone and your broader Google account — and it’s effectively value doing a minimum of annually.
One of the best a part of this checkup? It’s fully painless — and in contrast to with most preventative exams, eradicating your pants is solely non-obligatory.
Get much more Googley data with my Android Intelligence e-newsletter — three new issues to strive each Friday and three particular bonus suggestions in your inbox as we speak.