Important Android Privacy Settings That Are Often Overlooked

Android comes with a lot of security features, but many of them are buried deep in settings, so they often go unused. It's worth taking advantage of these features to protect against intrusive targeted ads, unauthorized access, and theft.

7. You can't get rid of ads, but you can choose which ads you see

Advertising is an inevitable part of using Google services , and every Google account has a unique advertising ID that stores and uses the topics you're interested in to show you more relevant ads.

If you don't want to share this data, you can choose to delete your advertising ID entirely or reset it to start over if you see irrelevant ads on Google services. Keep in mind that deleting your advertising ID doesn't get rid of ads, but it can make them a little less intrusive.

To do this, go to Settings > Google > All services > Ads . Here, tap Delete advertising ID to stop seeing personalized ads or Reset advertising ID to create a new ID that apps will use to show you relevant ads.

6. Pinning apps helps keep people from snooping on your data

If you give your phone to someone for a while while you're away, you want to make sure they don't snoop on your private photos and files and still have the apps they need on your phone.

That’s where app pinning comes in. This is an underrated but incredibly useful Android feature that lets you lock an app in place so no one accidentally or intentionally exits it. It’s perfect for when you’re temporarily lending your phone to someone.

For example, if you're a parent, you can pin a mobile game to your screen before handing your phone to your child to ensure they don't accidentally delete important data while you're doing chores. Follow these steps to use the app pinning feature:

• Go to Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Allow apps to be pinned .
• Enable this feature and make sure Lock phone after unpinning is also enabled.
• Open the Recents screen , tap the icon of the app you want to pin, and select Pin this app .

To unpin an app, press and hold the Home button and the Recents button at the same time if you're using button navigation, or swipe up and hold from the bottom of the screen if you're using swipe gestures. After unpinning, you'll be taken back to the lock screen and will need to unlock it to continue.

5. Anti-theft protection can save data even if you lose your phone

Google has added a range of new anti-theft protection features to Android to help ensure your personal data stays safe even if your phone falls into the wrong hands. You can find these features in Settings > Security and privacy > Lost device protection > Theft protection .

The first feature is the theft detection lock, which automatically locks the screen if it detects that someone has snatched your phone and run away. This feature is really useful because in such cases, you won't have time to lock the screen and the thief can access all your data, which is much worse than just losing the hardware device.

With the theft detection lock enabled, the chances of a thief gaining access to your personal files are reduced. However, because many sudden movements are intentional, it is difficult to accurately estimate thefts, so this feature does not always activate as expected.

To combat this, Android also has a new offline device lock feature that locks the screen when the phone has been offline for a long period of time. Thieves may try to disconnect the phone to make it harder for you to track it using Find My Device, so this is definitely a smart addition.

The last and perhaps most important feature is remote locking. Once enabled, this feature will allow you to remotely lock your lost or stolen phone from another device, such as a laptop, that is signed into your Google account.

4. You can hide sensitive content from notifications on the lock screen

Notifications that appear on the lock screen can contain important information that you don't want passersby to see, such as OTP codes, bank messages, and private conversations. But hiding notifications from the lock screen completely would be too inconvenient because you obviously don't want to have to unlock your phone every time to see which app has received the notification.

The solution is to simply hide the content in those notifications, so that the lock screen only shows the app icons that send those notifications, not the whole thing. To do this, go to Settings > Notifications > Lock screen notifications and tap Hide content .

3. Remove precise location permissions for apps that don't need them

Many apps on your phone ask for access to your location, but not all of them need your exact location. Sometimes they just need an approximate location.

To maximize your privacy, you should only grant precise location permissions to apps that cannot function without it.

To review location permissions, go to Settings > Location > App permissions . Here, review each app and turn off Use precise location for apps that don't need this permission.

2. Allow only partial access to the library for infrequently used apps

Similar to the point above, it is unreasonable to grant full access to a library and all of its contents to every application that requests it.

To review your gallery permissions, go to Settings > Security and privacy > More privacy settings > Permission manager > Photos and videos . Review each app with this permission and select Allow limited access if appropriate.

1. Pixel's Private Space mimics Samsung's Secure Folder

Samsung added Secure Folder to Galaxy devices in 2017 and it immediately became a fan favorite. Secure Folder is a separate space on your phone that requires you to enter your biometric information or password to unlock and is protected by the company's Knox security platform.

You can move photos, files, and all your sensitive apps into Secure Folder to keep them away from prying eyes. Dating apps, payment apps, and investing apps all contain sensitive information that’s best kept secure. Even if your phone is stolen and the screen is unlocked when the theft occurs, you can rest assured that the contents of Secure Folder won’t be tampered with.

Realizing how important such a feature is to user privacy, other manufacturers have followed suit and added their own implementations. On Google Pixel phones, the feature is called Private Space and is located at the bottom of the app drawer. On Xiaomi phones, it is called Second Space. On OnePlus and Oppo phones, it is called Private Safe.