Our phones carry personal information and it is always good to have an extra layer of protection for sensitive data. Though screen lock helps to protect to some extent, you may feel uncomfortable when giving phone to someone. In such situations, you can lock sensitive apps like banking apps with a password to protect them. It is also possible to protect other apps like messages, photos, and videos. In this article, we will explain various options available to lock apps with password in Android.
Password Protecting Apps and Files/Folders
Remember, protecting entire app is different than setting password for few files/folders. If you want to protect files, folders, pictures, and videos with a password in Android, check our article on how to password protect files and folders in Android. In this article, we focus on locking complete app with password for accessing.
In addition, do not confuse this article with pinning an app to the screen in Android phones. Screen pinning allows you to always keep the app open and ask password when you try to close the app. What we discuss in this article is exactly opposite to protect the app with password/pattern when opening.
Lock Apps With Password Using App Settings
The best way to lock apps in Android is to activate their fingerprint lock. Some apps also support PIN (personal identification number) for protection. After setup, the app will prompt you to verify with fingerprint or PIN whenever you open. For example, WhatsApp is a popular messaging app offers additional fingerprint lock option. You can enable this in Android app under “Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint lock” section. On the page, you can register your fingerprint and make the other settings like lock timing and showing content in notifications. Every time you open your WhatsApp, you must touch the fingerprint sensor depending on your settings. Similarly, almost all banking and credit card apps have this feature.
On phones with no home button, you will see the option as “Screen Lock” which will allow you to enable face ID for protection. Whether you lock with fingerprint or face ID, it is still possible to reply messages from notification screen or attend calls when the app is locked.
Lock Apps with Passwords Using Third-Party Apps
Most apps do not provide face ID, fingerprint or personal identification number protection every time you open the app. Moreover, you have to protect files, folders, photos, and videos inside the app separately. If you are looking for single solution to lock everything with a password or pattern, there are various third-party apps available for that purpose.
1. AppLock
This is the best app to lock other apps and hide your photos . First, install it from Google Play and run the app on your phone. It will ask you to set up unlock pattern, accept the agreement, and you need to grant necessary permission for accessing your files. The best thing about AppLock is that it will automatically lock your apps, photos, videos, and other essential things based on its recommendation. However, you can always add more items to lock them.
- On the main page, you will see a list of apps on your phone and their status, whether they are protected or not.
- The locked sign in front of the item indicates it is protected. This means, you have to enter the pattern lock to unlock the item.
- You can tap on any item and change its status. For example, Android’s default “Files” folder is not protected in the AppLock. You can search it on the AppLock main page and change its status to protect.
AppLock works for Apps, files, folders, photos, videos, and other items. You can protect the entire “Photos” folder and even the Camera app with AppLock.
2. AppLocker
AppLocker is another popular App to password protect all the items in Android phone. It features a fake cover in which when someone opens a locked app, instead of showing the usual lock screen, it displays a screen that lets the user think that the app is crashed. If you long press the “OK” button, the AppLocker will reveal the lock screen, and a tap on the “OK” button will return you to the home screen. One more unique feature of AppLocker is “Intruder Selfie,” which, if enabled, will take pictures of the intruders who try to open the locked items multiple times. It takes the image on the wrong unlock attempts, and you can set the number of incorrect attempts after which the photo must be taken.
When you run the AppLocker program after installation, it will ask you to set up the pattern to unlock the items on your phone. The app asks to subscribe for a pro version, but you can cancel the message and opt for a free version which is sufficient for app locking purpose. After accepting the user agreement and giving all necessary permissions, you will see the list of locked and unlocked apps based on the recommendation. You can lock or unlock the apps from the list with just one tap. There is also a toggle button in the upper right corner to enable or disable the entire AppLocker app, which is convenient to turn the app on or off quickly.
3. Lock Master
Lock Master is an app locking app with additional features like junk clean, phone boost, and battery saver. It can cool your device, delete duplicate files, clean WhatsApp, and provide Wi-Fi security. It offers a vault where you can hide your pictures and videos and clone the apps. In addition to taking the intruder selfie, you can hide social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in Lock Master.
Once installation is completed, run Lock Master to set up the pattern, and give all necessary permissions.
- A variety of themes can be accessed in the upper right corner.
- You can change password type in the setting menu accessible from the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner.
- The “Lock Master” main page will show you the list of locked and unlocked apps where you can change status with single tap.
- The feature recommendation section will give you access to the program’s additional features.
- Vault and advanced features are available at the top of the page.
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