Here’s a Great App That Lets You Lend Your Android Phone to Friends and Kids—Safely

I was recently asked this question: Can I safeguard parts of my Android phone (emails, text messages, banking apps) from guests or my own children?

I had to reply that I didn’t know of a way to do this on an Android phone. Yes, with Android tablets, you can set up different profiles and partition personal info, but not on phones. Or so I thought.

There is a way to do it, using a great, free app called Lockdown Pro.

Lockdown Pro is perhaps the simplest, cleanest, and cleverest way to lock particular apps on your smartphone. Using it, you should be able to hand your phone over, even for a long-term loan, without worrying about your guest snooping in your data or messing up your device.

Apple fans may gloat just a little: The iPhone has a built-in service that locks guests inside one app. This is in case your child wants to play Candy Crush, but you don’t want him reading your email. This iOS security measure keeps guests in an app instead of keeping them out of apps, as Lockdown does.

Let’s lock
When you first open Lockdown Pro, you’re asked to set up a personal PIN or passkey. After that, you can go into Lockdown’s settings and select which apps you want to secure. Now, whenever you or anyone else tries to open an app that’s been locked, the PIN or passkey will have to be entered first. It’s that easy.

It’s a simple solution for keeping people out of your business, yes, but what’s most impressive about Lockdown Pro is all the options you get.

There are the obvious choices of a PIN or passkey to secure everything. But, even trickier, you can also employ a “decoy” lock called Fake Cover, which makes it appear as if an app has crashed while trying to open it. This can throw really pesky friends or family members who happen to know all your passwords off your scent.

To actually unlock an app with the Fake Cover feature enabled, you have to long-press the OK button on the “crash” pop-up and then input the PIN or passkey on the following screen.

Lockdown Pro has a simple Off switch, which will unlock all the apps for those times when you don’t need to proptect them. And there are also location and WiFi unlock functions, which will automatically turn security off whenever you’re in a specified location or are connected to a specific WiFi profile.

So the new answer to the original question: Yes, Android does have a great option for securing your apps and info from guests. It’s an app called Lockdown Pro. It’s effective, easy to use, has more features than you’ll probably ever need, and is totally free. So, go, check it out now and thank me later.

Have questions, comments, or just want to tell me something funny? Email me at danbean@yahoo-inc.com.