Easy Ways to Boost Security on Your Android Device

You might not know, but your Android device has many powerful security options. Some are activated by default, protecting your device silently, while others are lesser-known but absolutely worth your attention. Let’s uncover these security secrets and shield your Android device from hackers and data thieves.

As per recent stats, over 300,000 Android users end up downloading banking trojans from the Google Play Store. Around 82% of Android devices are susceptible to one of 25 known vulnerabilities in the Android OS. There are many more staggering statistics regarding the security of Android devices.

Now, the good news is that besides the basic steps, many other important privacy and security settings can truly increase your device’s security.

Are you ready to find out? Let’s get started…

Google Play Protect

Google Play Protect is Android’s native malware protection and detection service. Yes, you read it right. It is built-in and available on every Android device. Initially, the software has been reported to be less effective, but lately, this cloud-based verification service has undergone many improvements, making it suitable for real-time protection against hazardous apps, even for sideloaded apps.

Some of its latest features are:

Revoke App Permissions: Automatically revokes or restricts permissions for potentially harmful apps, protecting your sensitive data like storage, photos, and the camera.
Enforced Play Protect App Scanning: Automatically disables the Play Protect app scanning toggle during phone and video calls. This is to keep scammers from tricking users into disabling Play Protect during calls to install unsafe third-party apps.
Prompt When Play Protect is Disabled: Google Chrome displays a prompt to re-enable Play Protect when disabled.
Block App Installation: The “enhanced fraud protection pilot” automatically blocks the installation of apps that exploit sensitive permissions for financial fraud.
Verified Badge: Recently, Google has introduced the “Verified” badge for reliable VPN apps.

There is much more to this. So, you see how valuable Play Protect is when it comes to the security of your Android device.

Use Paraphrases, Not Passwords

When it comes to selecting a password for any of your accounts, we strongly recommend using a phrase rather than a password.

Are you new to paraphrasing?

Well, a paraphrase is a type of password that is complex, stronger, and longer, yet these are easier for the users to remember. But because it’s a long string of a combination of easy-to-remember phrases, paraphrases are near-impossible to crack. Even if they feature no numeric or special characters.

Here we have given examples to help you better understand the difference between the two:

Example of a password: $78&3%0@@
Example of a paraphrase: Ceiling_almirah_blanket

If you are still curious, you may read the complete passphrase vs password comparison to know why we suggest passphrases as a stronger and more secure option than conventional passwords, where ambiguous and random characters are used.

Use a Reliable VPN

Today, we are all spending most of our daily hours online to work, shop, order, communicate, and even exchange location information. All this information we access and share online goes through a network, which we believe is safe and private. But that isn’t always true.

Hackers keep an eye on the network traffic, particularly public Wi-Fi and open connections, for stealing sensitive personal information of users. Just imagine an unauthorized person using your credit card or bank details.

Scary, no?

That’s why you need a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN routes your internet traffic through a secure, encrypted connection. This means your data is secure from any malicious activities, and no one can track your online activities. That is the reason you must use a reliable VPN on your Android. It is designed to help maintain your anonymity and privacy online while protecting you from prying eyes.

App Pinning (or Screen Pinning)

App pinning is another lesser-known security feature on Android devices. With this feature, you can lock a single app to your smartphone and require a password or fingerprint authentication to access anything else on the device. This is great when you have to entrust your phone to someone and you want to be sure they don’t access something they shouldn’t.

To use app pinning, you’ve to activate it. Simply follow these steps:

Settings > Security & Privacy (or Advanced settings or More security settings), and find the label App pinning or Screen pinning (or Pin app or Pin windows). Tap the label and ensure the toggle to require authentication before unpinning is on.

Safe Browsing

Luckily, Google Chrome’s Safe Browsing mode remains activated by default. But did you know Chrome has a newer and safer version of the security feature called Enhanced Safe Browsing? So, why not use it?

Here’s how you can:

On your Android device, open the Chrome browser.
Tap the three-dot menu icon on the upper-right.
Select Settings > Privacy and security > Safe Browsing.
Tap the dot next to Enhanced protection to enable it.

While you are already within the menu, go back to the main Chrome settings menu and select “Safety check.” This will reveal a handy one-tap tool for scanning your various browser settings and saved passwords and letting you know of anything that needs attention.

Now, go back to the main Chrome Settings and select Safety check. You’ll see a one-tap tool to scan your browser settings and passwords to identify anything shady.

Theft Detection Lock

In 2024, Google launched Android 15 with many new features. And out of those, the Theft Detection Lock has been among the most notable ones. This safety feature uses AI to keep your data safe. When your Android device notices that someone has snatched your device, it automatically locks it. The algorithm behind Theft Detection Lock uses various device signals and sensors to detect theft and acts promptly to keep thieves from accessing your phone.

In addition, the Offline Device Lock feature protects you when a thief tries to extract your data offline. If an unlocked device is offline for a long duration of time, this feature locks the screen and protects your data from theft.

Other Important Tips to Enhance Android Safety

Here we have listed some other important tips to protect your Android’s safety:

Recheck all your app permissions to ensure that every app installed on your phone has only the necessary access. Advisably, do this periodically, at least once a month.
Hide notifications and their details from appearing on the locked screen to keep unwanted people from reading important notifications on your device. To enable, go to Settings > Security & Privacy > More Privacy Settings. Then, tap Notifications on the lock screen and set it to “Show sensitive content only when unlocked,” or you may even select “Don’t show notifications at all.”
Use two-factor authentication (2FA) for the Google account you’re using on your Android device, as this will make sure your device and your account remain secure.
Use the Guest Mode feature if you are letting someone else use your phone and want to make sure they are not able to access your personal information.

Concluding Thoughts

Now that you have performed all the necessary steps to enhance the security of your Android device, it will help maximize the protection of your Android device as well as your personal data stored within it.

It is always recommended to continue performing these checks once every two months to ensure your device is up to date with the latest security settings and there’s nothing left unchecked that could possibly compromise the security of your device and the protection of your information.