Smartphones have become the way of life in this period of the internet of things. Not only do they allow you to access tons of information, but they store a lot of your sensitive personal data and messages.
These days, a wrong person gaining access to your smartphone can prove highly disastrous, which is why you need to find ways to safeguard yourself from such situations.
If you want to make sure random people can’t easily access your phone, you should consider using a good-quality app lock.
Fortunately for you, this article will briefly look at some of the best app locks for Android that’ll help keep your smartphone safe from unwanted users.
App locks provide password protection for the applications on your phone. If someone doesn’t have your password, then they won’t be able to access the files and data on your smartphone.
This means that when you’re using a high-quality app lock, you won’t have to worry about anyone, be it a family member, friend, or colleague, gaining access to your personal files without your explicit permission.
Now, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best app locks for Android on the market.
Best App Locks For Android
1. Norton Applock
If you’ve ever heard of Norton before, chances are you know it’s one of the most popular antivirus software in the world. However, not many people know that it’s a lightweight, fast, and free-to-install app lock for Android as well.
Norton’s app lock allows you to set up a pattern, fingerprint, password, or four-digit PIN security feature to protect your applications against unwanted access. Additionally, besides being able to app lock your phone, you can secure your videos, photos, and personal data from uncalled-for ingresses.
Norton App Lock can also prevent third-party intruders from being able to uninstall the apps on your phone, and it can also capture the footprint of the unwanted user who enters a wrong pattern, password, or PIN via the sneak-peek feature.
This easy-to-use ad-free app lock will also suggest to the user a list of applications on your phone it thinks you should lock. All in all, it’s excellent feature-filled security software that does its job incredibly well.
2. AppLock (Ivy Mobile)
AppLock (by Ivy Mobile) is a free-to-download tool that you can use to lock the applications on your smartphone. It helps you protect apps such as galleries, email, contacts, videos, photos, and generally nearly all the apps on your phone.
The only problem with this software is that it supports ads, which many folks tend not to like because they can be very disturbing when one is using the app.
That said, just like most other security programs on this list, this app lock tool uses a pattern or PIN locking system to help you protect your apps from unwanted visitors.
This app lock can also take photos of the people who forcefully try to unlock your apps or enter the wrong password. Besides that, it also allows you to change or replace the app lock feature with a fake icon, such as a notepad, calendar, or calculator if you don’t want people to know you’re using an app lock.
3. FingerSecurity
FingerSecurity is one of the oldest free app locks for Android, and it’s also the first to have a fingerprint app lock function that allows you to use your fingerprint to lock the applications on your phone. However, if you don’t want to use this function or the fingerprint feature isn’t working as it should, you can also use the password or PIN option.
In its premium version, FingerSecurity offers many different wallpapers as a lock screen background, which means you can put your favorite pictures in your device’s display background. If you’re not interested in wallpapers, the tool allows you to use images from your gallery.
This security software also takes photos of intruders who try to forcefully access the apps on your phone using the wrong PIN or password. In addition, you can make sure the list of your recent tasks and activities and your application information aren’t made visible and displayed on your screen.
Its set safe location feature implies that when you use the Google smart lock function, you can use pre-approved settings to unlock your smartphone. These are trusted and safe conditions that help ensure both convenience and security.
The function, as mentioned above, dictates that at all other times, besides the pre-approved settings, your phone will stay locked and will need inputting a password, pattern, or PIN to unlock. This provides more security, comfort, convenience, and ease of use.
4. CM AppLock
CM AppLock helps you protect your apps and information from unwanted visitors. It helps keep your Android smartphone and its apps safe by locking the handset’s display using a fingerprint, password, pattern, or PIN lock system.
This app lock software can also hide your videos and photos from unwanted ingress. However, once you set it up, it will only allow you to view this data if you have access to the phone’s storage vault.
The app will take pictures of people who try to access your videos, photos, personal data, etc, using the wrong password.
This app lock for Android also lets its users improve their lock screen by allowing them to set background themes as per their requirements and change the color of their back screens. Additionally, you can use it as an application cleaner to clean your device of viruses to help enhance its speed.
5. LOCX
This 1.8MB APK file, a lightweight app lock for Android, is a speedy app that uses very little storage space, which is a huge plus. However, even though it’s considerably light in weight, it’s an incredibly feature-filled piece of security software that allows users to enable or disable it via a single tap.
It has a safe photo vault where you can save and protect your photos, which one can only open if they have the right pattern or pin. Furthermore, there’s a video vault where you can lock all your private and personal video content, making them invisible to unwanted visitors.
Use a passcode to lock your gallery, contacts, phone settings, and emails, so you don’t have to worry about intruders and sneakers. In addition, it allows you to hide your lock screen password from peeping toms, prowlers, and trespassers.
Another great thing about this software is that it doesn’t have a re-lock function when you return after brief exits, which means its use is a lot smoother because you won’t have to keep unlocking the application every single time you leave.
Lastly, it lets you encrypt and hide chats on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or WhatsApp, making them visible to only those who have permission to see them and you. The app lock will ensure no other third parties can’t see this information unless you explicitly allow them to.
6. AppLock (SailingLab)
AppLock- Fingerprint & Password is an app lock for Android that has many different features besides protecting your applications from unauthorized visitors.
It has all the standard features like pattern, PIN, and fingerprint protection. It also comes with a photo vault option and an intruder selfie function that allows the phone to take pictures of users trying to break into the phone.
From face value, AppLock by SailingLab is a feature-filled app lock that does an excellent job protecting sensitive applications and text messages from the unwanted prying eye. Furthermore, you also have themes for your lock screen to help enhance overall aesthetics.
The one major downside, though, is that it supports ads which can get super annoying during actual use. However, if you’re searching for a complete security tool that can hide both video and photo content and lock the apps on your Android device, then this app lock system is what you need in your life.
7. LOCKit
This app lock tool allows users to protect and lock nearly everything on their Android handset. LOCKit has a video vault, gallery lock, app lock, and more.
This tool allows you to use fingerprint, PIN, and pattern security systems to lock your videos, photos, and apps. However, you can only use the fingerprint lock option if your Android smartphone features an under-screen fingerprint scanner.
The fingerprint option will allow you to easily view your videos and photos and open applications with one touch.
You’ll also get the fantastic intruder selfie function that allows the device to take photos of intruders and prowlers who try to gain access to your apps and personal data when you are not around. Besides that, a disguise feature allows you to hide that you’ve locked some of your applications.
8. Smart AppLock
The app lock tool is relatively new in the Play Store, but it’s already gained quite a lot of popularity and traction in such a short time because of its straightforward approach and clean interface.
Like most of its competitors, Smart AppLock allows its users to lock their applications via pattern, PIN, or fingerprint lock systems.
It’s also got a unique and innovative feature called “profiles,” which allows users to categorize their applications in social, general, sensitive, and payment tags. In fact, they can even create their own profiles and include all the apps they prefer.
One of the best things about this “profile” function is that it allows you to use just one tap to enforce your preferred rules. For instance, you can use one tap to unlock your social applications once you get home and avoid having to fiddle with each app’s lock permissions.
9. Perfect AppLock
This free-to-use app lock for Android supports ads but has a paid version that doesn’t. However, that’s the only difference between the paid and free options.
You can use this tool to lock your internet data, WiFi and Bluetooth, and it also has a screen filter function that can help decrease or increase the brightness levels of individual applications.
In addition, its unwanted screen rotation function allows you to prevent unwanted screen rotation via a rotation lock feature.
In addition to all this, the tool can also capture an intruder’s footprint and take their photo when they try to input a wrong pattern or PIN more than three times. Furthermore, it allows you to program a four-digit PIN code, a pattern, or a gesture that it will use to secure and protect your device’s apps.
Another exciting thing about this tool is its SMS facility that lets you use the app lock remotely. Unfortunately for prowlers and intruders, this feature will attempt to confuse them by displaying fake error messages on the apps you’ve chosen to lock.
10. Smart AppLock Pro (App Protect)
This is another app lock for Android that you can get for free. It’s a fully updated, simple, clean and lightweight application that has ad-supported on the free option but ad-free on the paid version.
This security tool can lock your apps, personal information, settings, and incoming calls. Furthermore, you can hide the app lock software in a secret dialer by changing its icon.
As a safety feature, you can use a screen lock pattern or fingerprint lock system to lock the mobile screen. Other than that, you can also prevent unwanted entries by using a gesture or password lock function.
Another great thing about this software is it can take pictures of prowlers and intruders and send you those images via email, allowing you to be more careful with who you leave your device with in the future.
If you’ve got a Samsung Device, you can delay app locking, set break-in alerts, and auto-start upon reboot. By changing the icon, you can also hide the software in a secret dialer.
11. Private Photo Vault (Keepsafe)
Private Photo Vault by Keepsafe keeps all your apps safe and locks apps as per your preferences. The moment you download this tool, the app will guide you on how to set it up so that you can take full advantage of what it can do.
The tool has a free option that supports ads, which can be very annoying, but you can avoid ads by going for the paid version, which is completely ad-free. However, both options allow you to use a fingerprint, PIN, or password lock system to lock the phone.
Okay, the free option does have ads, but you can disable them by making in-app purchases, which was one way of avoiding ads but still using it for free.
The software can also help prevent people from uninstalling your apps. It can also delay the re-locking of your applications so that you won’t have to keep dealing with lock permissions every time you stop using your device.
It has a good, well-articulated interface that’s easy to use. It allows you to temporarily disable the app lock if you don’t need it at certain times.
12. Privacy Knight Applock
This free-to-install app lock for Android is another excellent security tool, even though it may not be as popular as most of the other options on this list. As per its name, Privacy Knight Applock provides its users with complete privacy by erasing all the apps visible on their homepage.
However, one of the best things about this app is that it’s ad-free on both the free and paid options, so you don’t have to worry about unwanted distractions. Unfortunately, though, you can’t make any in-app purchases.
It has a pattern or PIN lock system option for securing your device, but you can also lock the applications on your phone by using face tracking or fingerprint scanning. In addition, you can unlock the apps by using disguise covers like crash messages or by shaking or blowing on the phone.
It has a separate media vault that allows users to hide their personal and private videos and photos from the prying eyes of the unwanted visitor, and you can only access this vault via password. Furthermore, you can also use the tool to hide your notifications previews from incoming SMS texts, social media, and contacts.
Lastly, similar to its closest competitors on the market, Privacy Knight also captures the footprint of intruders and takes a picture of them when they try to open your phone unsuccessfully. This is usually what many people would like their app lock to do because it helps ensure their personal information is safe in case they lose their device or it gets stolen.
13. Knock Lock
Yes, Knock Lock has a different overall look compared to most of the other app locks for Android on the market. Still, once you install and open it, you’ll find a great user interface that’s easy to use and explains its functionality perfectly.
In addition, it has a beautiful Hi-Def lock screen display featuring a custom time and date format that allows the user to see both the time and date while they use the app.
This tool offers an exclusive feature when it comes to locking your phone. Just like its name suggests, if you want to unlock your phone, all you’ll need to do is knock it in a set pattern.
However, that’s not the only exciting feature you’ll get with this phone security tool. It can also help you prevent accidental butt dialing and has a lock screen display that features a custom time and date format alongside colorful and vibrant HD wallpaper options.
14. AppLock (SpSoft)
This feature-filled, user-friendly app lock tool is available in over 25 different languages. Like most of its competitors, it allows you to use a fingerprint scanner, a pattern, or a PIN to lock and protect the applications on your phone.
It also offers screen rotation and backlight locking, allowing you to set different passwords for each app. When locking your apps, you can also hide the app by changing the tool’s icon on your homepage.
Lastly, if an intruder tries to gain access to your apps forcefully, AppLock will take a photo of them and send you the image via email.
The tool’s premium version contains all the features and is ad-free. Sadly, you’ll have to contend with ads if you choose the free version, but the good thing is that they’re limited and not as annoying as what you get from other app lock tools currently on the market.
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15. AppLocker (BGN Mobile)
You can subscribe to this free-to-use and simple app lock tool via Google Play. Like the other standard app on the market, this tool locks the applications on your phone and provides you with complete privacy.
It protects the apps on the phone using a pattern or PIN locking system and also prevents people from being able to uninstall your apps. It can also take pictures of people who forcefully try to access your phone with the wrong pattern or password.
If you’re not interested in using either the pattern or PIN locking system, AppLocker has a fingerprint scanner option you can use to lock and secure the applications on the phone.
Takeaway
Personally, I found Norton AppLock the best. It provides you with everything you’d need from an app lock tool. Furthermore, not only is it made by one of the most famous and popular software security brands on planet earth, but it’s also an ad-free tool.
That said, most app lock solutions above have fingerprint, pattern, PIN, and password lock systems. They can also take pictures of intruders who try to gain access to the applications in your phone forcefully.
You can pick the one you like.
