ÊTRE CYBER
etrecyber.frby Christophe Mazzola
FR
Android · Android 14 and later

Android: the settings that actually matter

Paths vary a little by brand: Samsung, Xiaomi and Google do not file everything in the same place. The name of the setting does not change. When in doubt, type it into the search box at the top of Settings.

8 réglages · 20 min

  1. 01

    Choose a six-digit PIN, not a pattern

    The path

    ParamètresSécurité et confidentialitéVerrouillage de l’écran

    A pattern can be read over your shoulder and leaves a grease trail on the screen. The most common ones fall in three tries.

    In the roadmap : Lock your phone’s screen
  2. 02

    Check the device is encrypted

    The path

    ParamètresSécurité et confidentialitéAutres paramètresChiffrement

    On by default since Android 10, but an older or refurbished device may not be. Without encryption, pulling the storage is enough to read everything.

    In the roadmap : Turn on device encryption
  3. 03

    Review permissions, category by category

    The path

    ParamètresSécurité et confidentialitéGestionnaire d’autorisations

    Location, mic, camera, contacts, files. Android lists the apps for each: this is where you discover what you granted without thinking two years ago.

  4. 04

    Delete the advertising ID

    The path

    ParamètresSécurité et confidentialitéConfidentialitéAnnonces

    This is not “turn off personalisation”, it deletes the number that follows you from app to app. The button exists, it is just well hidden.

  5. 05

    Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth background scanning

    The path

    ParamètresLocalisationServices de localisation

    Both let the phone scan networks around you even with Wi-Fi off, to refine your position. They are on by default.

  6. 06

    Check the backup and its date

    The path

    ParamètresGoogleSauvegarde

    Same as on iPhone: look at the date. A six-month-old backup is not a backup.

    In the roadmap : Back up your device automatically
  7. 07

    Check Play Protect is on

    The path

    ParamètresSécurité et confidentialitéPlay Protect

    It scans installed apps and the ones you download. Not sufficient on its own, but free and already there.

  8. 08

    Hide sensitive content on the lock screen

    The path

    ParamètresNotificationsNotifications sur l’écran de verrouillage

    Your login codes arrive as notifications. Shown in plain sight on the lock screen, they cancel the two-factor authentication they are meant to serve.

You have been through all of them.

These settings do not need redoing every month, but they are worth checking after every major system update: that is when some of them quietly return to their original value.

The related area

Mobile devicesYour phone holds your entire life. Permissions, public chargers, backups, auto-wipe: make it hard to open and easy to recover.See the actions

The other cards

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