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How to protect your data from prying eyes

It’s quite common to temporarily hand over a very personal device like a phone or tablet to someone else – maybe to make a call or share photos & videos.

However, if someone else has your unlocked phone, he or she can access all of your personal data: photos, videos, email, address book, text messages & chats.ET shows how you can share your device and still keep your data secure:

On Android

‘App Locker with Guest Mode’ is the full name of the app you should get. Developed by Pluggdd India, it gives you two levels of access to your device: master & guest. You can set different pattern or password locks for both. If you unlock the device with the master password, everything is unlocked.

As the owner of the device, you can set a guest password and control all the things that the guest has access to including the dialler, contacts, SMS inbox, gallery, Gmail, web browser, Whatsapp and so on. You can individually control access to every app that’s installed on the device. The app needs to be running in the background to control access.

It also starts up automatically when the device is restarted this can be changed in the app settings. Note that App Locker does not currently support Android L. Android L has its own guest (multi user) mode.

On Windows Phone

Microsoft was the first to implement a guest mode well, to be fair, they call it Kid’s Corner this feature is designed so that you can hand over your Windows Phone to your child with restricted access to the apps and settings. To enable this, head to Settings > System and enable Kid’s Corner. After you do that, you can choose all the content and apps that you want enabled within Kid’s Corner. Create a password (if your phone doesn’t already have one) and you’re set.

From the usual lock screen of the phone, if you swipe to the right (instead of upwards to unlock), it enters Kid’s Corner. This section has it’s own start screen, populated with the apps you have allowed. While the guest or ‘kid’ can customise to a certain extent, changes or removal of apps are not allowed. Note that you can only have one Kid’s Corner on each device.

On iPhone & iPad

You need to have iOS 8 for this little tweak to work. A feature called Guided Access (available from Settings > General > Accessibility) can be used as a sort of guest or child mode when you are going to hand over your device to someone else. After you enable Guided Access, you can choose to set a passcode entering the passcode brings the device out of Guided Access mode and back into normal.

You also need to enable the Accessibility Shortcut which lets you enable Guided Access with a triple press of the home button. So before you hand over the device, open the app that the guest is going to use and triple press the home button you can then restrict control of certain parts of the touchscreen, volume buttons and even the sleep/wake button. Essentially, the guest will only be able to use that one app.

On BlackBerry 10

On BlackBerry 10 devices, you can enable Parental Controls by going to Settings > Security and Privacy. Once you enable it, you are required to set a password this will be a fresh password (not the one you use to access the device), You will need to enter this password when you want to disable Parental Controls.

Within this, you can restrict incoming/outgoing calls & texts (or only allow those from the saved contacts), disallow removal or installation of apps, browser, BBM, location reporting, social apps and access to the camera. Note that enabling this feature does not block access to installed apps or to the image/video gallery.

If you’re using an older device with BlackBerry OS 7 (such as the Bold 9900), you can download the official BlackBerry Parental Controls add-on app from BlackBerry App World.

Privacy Screen Guards

In a public space, you should be worried about someone looking at your device over your shoulder. This has become more of a problem as screens have improved enough to allow someone sitting to the side to view content on your screen. The solution is the privacy screen guard like a screen guard, it has to be specifically cut and shaped for each device.

You can buy one for certain models of phones, tablets and laptops. It is applied just like any regular screen guard but its primary purpose is to limit the viewing angles of the display. As a bonus, it also protects the screen from scratches. Plus, you can remove it at any time without leaving a residue on the screen.

ACTIVE PARENTAL CONTROL

Qustodio (Free, for Android & iOS + Windows & Mac)

This is a complete monitoring solution with mobile apps and desktop counterpart the free version allows you to monitor and set number of hours of use plus block inappropriate content. Even in the free version, there are no limits to how much you can use it and you can set it up on multiple devices if you like.

You can also choose to go for various premium plans, paid for annually. Plans start at Rs 1,299 per year for 5 users. Premium plans add features like call/sms monitoring and blocking, SOS button on the app with location tracking, social media monitoring (to help catch social media predators) and app control (you can decide which apps can be used on which device).

DinnerTime (Free, for Android & iOS)

A lot of children have their own digital devices these days – so a special kids mode doesn’t cut it! If, as a parent, you feel that you’re losing control, give DinnerTime a try. The basic app (DinnerTime) lets you limit access to the device at dinner time, bed time or whenever you think they need a break from the screen (such as the dreaded exam time).

You can control access from your own mobile device. A countdown timer informs your child when the device will be available to use again. An advanced version called DinnerTime Plus (one time purchase of US$ 1.99 to 3.99) adds parental control, app monitoring in real-time, usage history, app blocking and app usage limits.

Source: ETTelecom

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