business contacts, emails, credit card information, private photos and videos — all of these are
memories or information of your life, and you wouldn’t want just anyone to have access to them.
Would you?
There are many ways to keep your phone safe & avoid threats. There’s setting up of a lock screen or
password protected, or sometimes permission requested by apps to use them. However the most
effective way of making your data useless to anyone who can get a hold of your phone or tablet is to
encrypt it.
What is encryption?
We will describe it simply to you. Encryption is the process of jumbling data using an encryption
key. It is available to only you and in such a way that the information your phone or tablet holds
is no longer accessible, recognizable or understandable. When you need to use your data, the
reverse process of unscrambling, known as decryption, uses your unique encryption key to
bring it back to a readable state.
Think of it as a secret code known just to you. If a person is to steal your private journal, he
wouldn’t be able to read it unless he knows what the code is & how to encrypt it.
Important? Why?
Even if you’ve locked down your phone with a strong numeric password the data behind are still
readable — your emails, text messages, photos, everything. So unless you have encrypted your
phone, a smart thief can use various means to crack your password & look into your personal
information. Since encryption protects information, it adds another layer of protection to your
information by rendering it unusable by anyone who doesn’t know how to un-protect it.
Government, doctors & lawyers all use encryption to avoid personal or confidential data to fall in
someone else’s hands. You can use encryption to shield your personal information against identity
and data thieves.
If you are thinking of selling your smartphone or tablet then encrypt it first before resetting it to its
factory setting. Even a full factory reset won’t completely wipe out your personal data.You can avert
the potential for data breaches like these by encrypting your mobile device.
How to encrypt your Android phone or tablet
Plug in the phone’s power charger. Initial encryption consumes a lot of battery power, especially if
you already have a lot of existing data on your phone. You don’t want to run out of juice in the middle
of the encryption process or you could lose data.
1. Go to Settings & Security.
2. Tap on Screen Lock and select PIN or Password from the list.
3. Designate a PIN or password. We recommend a password at least six characters long and using
both numbers and letters.
4. Scroll down to “Encrypt phone/tablet,” then tap “Encrypt SD card”. Tap the Next button and confirm
your choice on the next screen by typing your PIN or password when prompted.
5. Tap the “Encrypt phone/tablet” button to begin encryption.
Initial encryption can take 30 minutes to about an hour, depending how much data you have. Your
phone or tablet will reboot a few times during the process; this is normal. Just let the process
complete. Once encryption is finished, you will be asked for your PIN or password to unlock your
device.