We use our phones for many private things. For example, our bank card details, private messages, or photos are just a few of the things we keep on our phones. To protect everything on our phone, including these, we set a screen lock. In this way, you prevent anyone other than yourself from accessing your phone. However, if there are people who can access your phone, you may want to put a password on apps that you do not want them to know about.
What is App Locking?
App locking refers to the process of encrypting data stored or transmitted in a mobile app. Encryption is the process of converting data into a code that can only be read by someone with the decryption key.
App encryption is used to protect sensitive information such as user credentials, personal information, and financial data from unauthorized access. This is done by encrypting data while it is in transit or at rest, making it difficult for hackers to access the information.
Steps to Password Protect Apps
Putting a password on an app is adding a layer of security to the application to prevent unauthorized access. Here are the general steps you should follow to password-protect your app:
- Choose a strong password that is hard for others to guess but easy for you to remember.
- Some devices come with a built-in app locking feature that allows you to password-protect specific apps. Check your device settings to see if this option is available.
- If your device does not have a built-in app lock feature, you can download and install a third-party app lock from the app store. Many different app locking apps are available, so do some research to find one that suits your needs.
- Once you have installed an app lock, you need to set it up by creating a password and selecting the apps you want to protect. Some app locks also allow you to set up additional security measures like fingerprint or face recognition.
- Test the app lock by opening the protected app and trying to access it without entering the password. If the app lock is working properly, you will be asked to enter the password before access is granted.
Methods for Password Protecting Apps
Password Protecting iPhone Apps
Apple has always designed its devices to meet all the needs of its users. iPhone also has features that allow you to assign passwords to specific apps. Let’s look at what these are together.
Password Protecting Apps on iPhone with Guided Access
The Guided Access feature on the iPhone allows you to encrypt all apps on your device except one, closing them to access. To do this, you must follow the steps below:
- Follow the Settings > Accessibility order on your iPhone and then turn on Guided Access.
- First tap on Passcode Settings, then on Set Guided Access Passcode.
- Now set a password and re-enter the password you set.
- Then go to the app you want to put a password on.
- On iPhone 8 and earlier, tap the Home button three times. On iPhone X and later models, tap the side button three times.
- Now select Guided Access and tap Start.
With this process, you have assigned a password to the app. To end Guided Access, press the Home button or the side button three times, select Guided Access, and tap End.
Password Protecting Apps on iPhone Using Screen Time
Some iPhone users find Guided Access quite restrictive because only one app can be used. For this reason, you may want to perform a specific app password protection process. In such a case, you can use the Screen Time feature.
Screen Time, available in iOS 12 and later, is a feature that allows you to track the time you spend on apps. You can also limit the usage time of the app you want, and if you wish, you can assign a password to some apps for a period of time.
Follow these steps to put a password on apps on iPhone with the Screen Time feature:
- Follow the Settings > Screen Time order on your iPhone.
- Tap on the option named App Limits here and select Add Limit. Now you should be seeing a list of all applications installed on your iPhone.
- Select whichever one you want to restrict and tap Next.
- Now determine for which time intervals you want to apply the restriction. You can set this as minutes, hours, or even days.
The disadvantage of this feature is that you can only make the restriction for a certain period. However, you can extend the restriction period to a longer time.
Password Protecting Android Apps
There are times when we lend our phone for someone else to use. In such cases, the first thing that comes to our mind is privacy concerns. Therefore, it is quite understandable that you want to ensure your privacy by putting passwords on apps.
Below you will see two different methods by which you can assign passwords to Android apps.
Password Protecting Apps with Screen Pinning
The Screen Pinning feature on Android phones shows considerable similarity to the Guided Access feature we mentioned for iPhone. To activate this feature on your Android phone, you must follow the steps below:
- Follow the Settings > Security order on your Android phone.
- Tap on Advanced and then select one of the Screen Pinning or Pin Windows options.
- Now toggle the slider to the On position.
- Toggle the Lock device when unpinning or Ask for PIN before unpinning button. This process means your phone will ask for a password before unpinning the app.
- Finally, tap on the Overview option, then the application you want to pin, and tap on Pin.
When you turn off the Screen Pinning feature, your device returns to its previous state, and all applications prior to the pinning process become functional again.
Password Protecting Apps with Third-Party Apps
Finally, we will talk about third-party apps that help you ensure security by putting passwords on specific apps. The most popular of these are AppLock, Smart AppLock, and AppLock Pro, respectively.