Like iOS, Android does its best to be a secure platform. But one thing about operating systems is that developers are more than responsible for preventing unwanted people from getting access to your data. Users must be diligent about the app they installthe network they connect toand even the information they show on the lock screen.
By default, Android displays enough content on your lock screen to give anyone a glimpse of what’s going on in your life. You may receive a text or email containing sensitive information in the first sentence of the message body.
With default settings, when that message arrives, Android will show a portion of it on your lock screen, where it can be seen by everyone.
Also: How to allow specific people to contact you while you’re in Do Not Disturb mode on Android
But preventing sensitive content from appearing on your Android lock screen is actually quite simple. Let me show you how.
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If you have a device running Android 10 or later, most Android devices sold in the last few years, it should include the ability to hide content from the lock screen. I will be demonstrating with Android 13, running on Pixel 7 Pro.
With your device in hand, prevent sensitive content from reaching your lock screen.
How to prevent sensitive content from showing up on your Android lock screen
Press and hold any blank spot on your lock screen and then tap Main settings.
Long-pressing the home screen will bring you to this pop-up. Screenshots of Jack Wallen/ZDNET
From the Settings window, tap the gear icon for Glimpse.
Access Quick View profiles in Android 13. Screenshots of Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Tap “Sensitive content on lock screen”. In the resulting window, look for “Sensitive notifications” and tap the on/off slider to the off position. This will prevent apps that deem sensitive content from showing up on the Android lock screen.
You can also hide silent conversations and notifications from this same screen. Screenshots of Jack Wallen/ZDNET
When this configuration is handled with care, you’ll still see notifications on your lock screen, but they won’t show additional content if Android considers it sensitive. This way you’ll know something has arrived, but you have to unlock your device to see the information.
If you don’t want someone reading content from your lock screen, here’s one way to prevent it. Sure, you’ll have to take an extra step to read the content, but the additional security and privacy is well worth the inconvenience. You can also set it to silence notifications, hide notifications for certain apps, and hide all notifications.
