Whether it happened to you, you heard it from a friend, or you read about it on social media, hackers and thieves can steal your information from your smartphone if you’re not careful enough. Luckily, your device has built-in features to help improve your privacy and security measures. The following security tips everyone should know can help thwart thieves and hackers—start securing your smartphone today!
Set Up Facial Recognition or Choose a PIN/Pattern
The best way to keep your device secure from everyone around you is to set up a specific way to unlock your phone. For example, you could choose a PIN, make a pattern on the screen, or use facial recognition to unlock your phone. If someone wanted to unlock your device, they would need to know your password or have their face in your phone. These options will depend on the device you’re using because some might have the pattern unlock available but won’t offer facial recognition.
Never Share Your PIN Number or Pattern
Going off the previous tip, never share your PIN or pattern with anyone you do not trust. In fact, don’t share it with anyone at all! Aside from this, never leave your smartphone unlocked when you’re in public, as that will make it easier for thieves and others to access your private information.
Set Up Automatic Backup
Most devices have a feature that automatically backs up the smartphone once every 24 hours. You never want to forget this setting because it saves all your photos, contacts, messages, and emails to a cloud service or your laptop. So, if anything happens to your phone, you can easily redownload all your previous data without losing anything. We recommend setting up this feature after you buy a refurbished phone or any new device to ensure it’s backing up regularly.
Use Multiple Passwords & Never Save Them
You can literally do anything on your device, from paying your credit card bill to scrolling through social media. However, this also means your device stores the multiple accounts, passwords, and usernames you need to access these apps. When creating passwords for your apps, never reuse the same password, and never save them on your phone. Using the same password for all accounts makes it easier for thieves to access your information.
Never Download Third-Party Apps
You should only download new apps onto your device from the app store that comes on the smartphone, like the Apple App Store or Google Play. Third-party sources could be malicious and phishing for your information after downloading their app. This phone security tip everyone needs might not sound critical, but you never know what you’re downloading if it’s not coming from a reputable source or official app store.
If you’re not securing your devices, you could find yourself in a sticky situation with internet hackers and thieves. Accidents happen, but you can help prevent security and privacy issues by being more mindful about how you’re using the phone. Along with the advice above, you may also want to update your operating system when it’s available and turn on remote tracking just in case you lose your phone. Our smartphones house vital information and data, so it’s highly essential that we secure them.
