How To Take Google Lock Off Phone

Google Smart Lock: The complete guide

Google Smart Lock can simplify your smartphone'south security and save you time. Are you lot taking advantage of all it has to offer for Android?

JR Raphael By

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

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Think fast: How many times a day do yous option up your phone to look at something? Unless you live in the tundra or have far more cocky-control than most, the answer probably falls somewhere between "quite a few" and "more than than any sane person could count." Assuming you continue your device properly secured, that means you lot're doing an awful lot of unlocking — be it with your confront, your fingerprint, or the lawmaking you lot tap or swipe onto your screen.

Security'southward important, but goodness gracious, it tin be a hassle.

Thankfully, there's a improve way. Google Smart Lock provides a variety of options for keeping your Android phone unlocked in preapproved, known-to-be-safe circumstances. It'southward an hands overlooked merely incredibly useful feature that lets y'all create a sensible balance betwixt security and convenience. And once you set it upward, it'south simple as can be to use.

Here'southward a step-by-step guide to turning Google Smart Lock on and taking total advantage of everything it can offer.

Google Smart Lock: The Android options

On whatever reasonably contempo Android device, y'all tin can gear up up Google Smart Lock to go along your telephone unlocked in certain trusted situations simply to require your PIN, design, password, or biometric hallmark at all other times. It'due south the best of both worlds, in other words: effective Android security without unnecessary annoyances.

To actuate Google Smart Lock on Android, you'll start need to have a PIN, design, or password set for your phone (which yous should already have, regardless!). So, in Google's version of Android:

Open the Security section of your phone's settings.
Tap "Smart Lock."

On Android phones where the manufacturer has fabricated modifications to the operating arrangement, the Smart Lock section may exist located in a different area of the device's settings. On Samsung phones, for instance:

Open the Lock Screen section of your telephone's settings.
Tap "Smart Lock."

Nonetheless you get there, in one case you've opened the Smart Lock section, you'll be prompted to put in your PIN, pattern, or password — and you lot'll then come across a listing of available choices:

On-body detection: Fire upward this option, and your phone will remain unlocked whenever you're holding or carrying information technology — so long as you've already unlocked it once. That mode, if you unlock your phone to apply it and so put it dorsum into your pocketbook or pocket while walking around, you won't have to unlock information technology again the next time you choice information technology up. Anytime your phone is prepare down or not in movement for more than a moment, information technology'll crave authentication once more.

Trusted places: Peradventure the well-nigh useful Google Smart Lock chemical element, this option allows you to ready specific locations — by business name, street address, or manual map placement — at which your telephone volition never put up a lock screen or require authentication (in theory, at to the lowest degree; the part tin can sometimes be a fleck finicky and require occasional fine-tuning). You'll obviously want to be selective most what places y'all choose, but configuring this to recognize somewhere like your dwelling house tin be a helpful way to avert hallmark where it's generally non needed only go on your phone secured in all other areas.

Trusted devices: If you'd rather have Google Smart Lock recognize a Bluetooth pairing, this next option's for you lot. It empowers you to tell your phone to skip the lock screen anytime it's continued to a specific Bluetooth device — say, your machine'southward sound arrangement or your gym headphones — when you lot know the phone volition always be in your control.

google smart lock android 2020 — Yous can add together any Bluetooth device that's been paired to your phone as a trusted device and so let it go on your phone unlocked whenever it'due south connected.

Vocalism match: This one's in the midst of being phased out, but on older Android phones, you might still find an option for information technology. At this point, that pick will typically simply take you to a screen where you can configure your phone's voice activation system to let you interact with certain Google Assistant functions without having to unlock the device — but information technology won't actually keep your telephone unlocked, equally the other Smart Lock functions will. And it won't exist around much longer.

Trusted confront: This final option is only likely to be present if you lot own a really onetime Android phone — and fifty-fifty then, quite honestly, yous probably still won't want to use it. Android'south 2011-era facial recognition system was never entirely consistent, reliable, or secure, for that matter. It's been replaced with more than modern and effective face up unlocking mechanisms that be as their ain standalone entities and are non continued with the Smart Lock brand.

With the other Smart Lock options, though, you lot tin can reach a sensible rest of security and convenience — and at the terminate of the day, that'south only going to assistance yous keep your information condom while keeping your sanity intact.

This story was originally published in December 2018 and updated in March 2020.

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels about the human side of engineering science. Hungry for more? Bring together him on Twitter or sign up for his weekly newsletter to become fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Fri.