{"id":5195,"date":"2017-10-25T15:18:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T22:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/?p=5195"},"modified":"2023-01-11T15:41:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T23:41:12","slug":"effective-ways-secure-smartphone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/effective-ways-secure-smartphone\/","title":{"rendered":"Effective Ways to Secure Your Smartphone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s smartphones offer all sorts of ways to guard against having your personal information compromised if your device is lost or stolen. Here are several steps you can easily take to preserve your \u201csmartphone peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>First, add a <strong>screen lock<\/strong> to make sure that only you can get to your phone\u2019s home screen and access your contacts, photos, files, and apps. If you haven\u2019t already done so, follow the steps in your user manual to learn how to add a PIN code or swipe pattern, or in newer phones, setup a fingerprint or even facial recognition. Remember, you can always find your user manual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/Help\/videos-and-manuals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Second, protect all of your <strong>passwords<\/strong>. The more difficult you make a password, the less chance a thief has of figuring it out! In addition, to help keep track of your passwords, download a password manager app, like <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.lastpass.lpandroid&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LastPass<\/a>, which works for both Android and iPhones. Many of these are free of charge, and store your passwords securely so you don\u2019t forget them.<\/p>\n<p>Even with screen lock protection and impenetrable passwords, we all know a phone can still go missing. To be prepared for this, both Android and iPhones allow you to setup <strong>tracking features<\/strong> that will help locate your device. You can activate these in just a few quick steps.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For Android smartphones: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Settings app on your phone; then tap Security.<\/li>\n<li>Under \u201cAndroid Device Manager\u201d, switch \u201cRemotely locate this device\u201d and \u201cAllow remote lock and erase\u201d to the \u201cOn\u201d position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then, if your phone is misplaced,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On a computer or another phone, go to Google.com and search \u201cFind my phone.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Use the Android Device Manager option in your browser.<\/li>\n<li>Log in using your Gmail account (the same one you use on your device).<\/li>\n<li>Click the lost device to see its current location on a map.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>For iPhones:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Setting app on your iPhone; then tap iCloud.<\/li>\n<li>Tap Find my iPhone, then tap the switch so it is in the \u201con\u201d position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your device is missing,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Go to the \u201cFind My iPhone\u201d app on your iPad or another iPhone.<\/li>\n<li>Log in using your Apple ID (you\u2019ll need to have set this up previously).<\/li>\n<li>In the main menu, select \u201cFind iPhone.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Select \u201cAll Devices\u201d, and then find the iPhone that is missing. You\u2019ll see its current location on a map.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With both of these, once you\u2019ve located your phone, you\u2019ll have the option to remotely erase all of its sensitive information if necessary. In most cases, you\u2019ll probably find it\u2019s simply fallen under a couch cushion or your car seat, but it\u2019s always better to be safe than sorry!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s smartphones offer all sorts of ways to guard against having your personal information compromised if your device is lost or stolen. Here are several steps you can easily take to preserve your \u201csmartphone peace of mind.\u201d First, add a screen lock to make sure that only you can get to your phone\u2019s home screen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Effective Ways to Secure Your Smartphone<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today\u2019s smartphones offer all sorts of ways to guard against having your personal information compromised if your device is lost or stolen.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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