Android phone security: How to secure your device and protect your data.

Your mobile holds a lot of data, from banking apps to photos to contacts. That’s why protecting your device isn’t just routine, but essential for keeping your important data secure.

Here’s why Android phone security matters:

• Protecting your personal information: Your device contains sensitive data like emails, messages and saved passwords. Without safeguards, people who shouldn’t have it could access it.
• Financial security: With banking and shopping apps on your phone, it’s important to prevent unauthorized access that could lead to financial fraud or theft.
• Malware: Your phone could be targeted by malware that damages your device or steals information.

Android is built with powerful security features designed to keep your phone (and your data) secure. From protecting you against scams, fraud and theft to safeguarding against malicious apps, you’re covered from the moment you power on.

Setting up your lock screen, whether with a password, PIN or biometrics*, is one of the simplest ways to protect your device.

These built-in security features on Android are quick to set up and offer a strong first layer of mobile security. Let’s explore how you can use them to better protect your phone.

1. Protect your phone with a strong password.

Choose a password that you’ll remember (so you don’t get locked out), but that's difficult for someone else to guess.

Top tip: When choosing a password, use a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Alternatively, choose a PIN. Enter 4 or more numbers, but a 6 digit PIN is recommended for added security as longer PINs tend to be more secure. We’d recommend either of these options over a pattern lock, as there are only so many patterns to choose from, which makes them easier to guess.

2. Secure your phone with a biometric lock.

Did you know you can unlock your phone with just your fingerprint or face? Android-powered devices offer several biometric lock options*, which means you can use your biological characteristics to secure your phone.

Fingerprint scanning is a quick and secure way to lock your device, as you have to touch your phone for it to work. Facial recognition is another option, which analyzes specific points of the face to verify who you are and unlock your phone. While this is also quick and convenient, it’s slightly less secure than using your fingerprint, as you can be further away from your device to unlock it.

*Biometric feature availability may vary by device.

Your Google Account is a gateway to many services, so learning how to secure it and protect your phone is essential. Let’s break down a few of the ways you can help keep your data protected:

• Passkeys: Enjoy effortless access using your device’s screen lock, like a fingerprint or PIN. Passkeys are phishing-resistant, twice as fast as passwords and work seamlessly across all your devices. Built on industry standards, they deliver next-generation security without the hassle of remembering your login details.
• Sign in with Google: Using Sign in with Google, your credentials stay protected, even if a third-party app or service has a security incident. Your logins are uniquely verified, keeping your sign-in details private and secure. You can easily manage and update what data you’re choosing to share, all in one place, keeping you in control of your accounts and connections.
• 2-Step Verification: To prevent anyone from accessing your account, use a secondary authentication process in addition to your usual login information. 2-Step Verification provides even stronger protection and defense against hackers.
• Password Manager: Google’s Password Manager can help protect your personal information by securely suggesting, saving and filling in strong, unique passwords for all your accounts. Passkeys are supported, too, and everything is conveniently managed in one place.

When it comes to learning how to protect your phone, discovering ways to manage your apps properly is crucial. Here are a few ways to stay on top of your security:

• Keep your software updated: Install system and app updates promptly to allow your phone to benefit from any security updates or patches that fix vulnerabilities.
• Install apps from trusted sources: Only download apps from trusted sources like the Google Play Store, as apps from unknown sources may contain malware.
• Google Play Protect: This built-in tool scans apps for malware every day and warns you or removes harmful apps that seem suspicious.
• Review and manage app permissions: Make sure you frequently check and cancel unnecessary permissions in your device’s settings. Top tip: Only allow the minimum permissions required for each app to function properly.
• Use secure messaging apps: If available, use end-to-end encrypted messaging apps for secure communication.
• Hide notifications: You don’t want just anyone seeing notifications with sensitive information. Prevent them from showing on the lock screen by adjusting your notification settings.
• Review old apps: Android automatically disables permissions for apps you haven't used in a while, but you can review old apps and turn off permissions proactively.
• Remove unused apps: Keeping unused apps installed can pose a security risk, so it’s a good idea to remove them (plus, you’ll free up some phone space, too).

What about mobile security apps?

There are plenty of third-party options out there, but Android already has powerful security built in. Tools like Google Play Protect and lock-screen protection work to keep your device secure, so you and your data stay protected without the need for another app.

Protect your phone’s data on the go by securing your network connections. Here are our top tips:

• Avoid using public Wi-Fi: Be cautious when using public Wi-Fi networks, as they are often unsecured and can leave your phone vulnerable to attacks.
• Disable automatic and unnecessary connections: Head to your settings and turn off automatic connections to unsecured networks and forget the network connections you don’t frequently use.
• Use strong Wi-Fi passwords: To reduce the risk of unwanted access, choose a unique and difficult-to-guess password.

There are plenty of features on your Android phone that aim to enhance security. Discover how to protect your phone using advanced safety measures.

• Turn on Advanced Protection: Android 16 offers our highest level of protection against online attacks, harmful apps, unsafe sites, scam calls and more. You can turn on robust security features using Advanced Protection with one click. These automatic protections help guard your data against sophisticated hacks and ensure that your security features are enabled and seamlessly work together.
• Enroll in the Advanced Protection Program for additional account security: For users who are at high risk of cyber attacks, like journalists, elected officials, political campaign staff and human rights workers, you can enroll in the Google Advanced Protection Program, which prevents unauthorized access to your Google account and keeps your personal information secure.

To help protect yourself against theft or fraud, you can turn on built-in theft protection features*, such as Theft Detection Lock. This feature detects if your device was unexpectedly taken and locks the screen.

Offline Device Lock is another feature that protects your data. It activates if your device goes offline and locks your screen. For example, if someone steals your phone and turns off the internet to prevent you from finding it with Find Hub, your device will lock after a short period.

You can also enable other built-in features to protect yourself against scams and fraud. Keep spam protection turned on in Google Messages to filter out suspicious texts. Plus, make sure Safe Browsing is enabled in Chrome or upgrade to Enhanced Safe Browsing for extra protection.

*Some theft protection features require Android 10+.

If you’re wondering how else you can secure your phone, it’s also worth considering your recovery options.

• Backup your data: Regularly backing up your data using the cloud, local storage, or Google Drive ensures you can recover it in an unfortunate incident.
• Find Hub: If your phone is lost or stolen, this handy feature helps you locate, lock or wipe data from your device. Learn more about Find Hub.

1. Be cautious with links and attachments: Phishing attacks are frequently targeted through emails or messages with links and attachments, so be wary.
2. Use a secure browser: It’s a good idea to use a browser with built-in anti-phishing and anti-malware features.
3. Privacy filters: Use privacy filters on your screen to prevent others from viewing any sensitive content.

Your Android phone is made with security in mind. Use the built-in features and try out our top tips to protect your phone.