Privacy and security are elements that more and more users in Europe are taking it into account in their digital lives. Using your cell phone for many important tasks such as checking your bank balance, sending money, communicating at work and even arranging vacations, it is always advisable to be careful so that no one can access it without permission.
Android is a pretty secure operating system, and if you don't download apps from unknown sources, it will be difficult for your device to get infected. However, there are many occasions where privacy intrusions are not carried out remotelybut they happen when another person picks up our cell phone.
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However, Android has an interesting option that can make us lend the cell phone to someone else without fear that it can access the files, information or applications that we use daily. This is called guest mode, and all Android phones and tablets have this option. Even the Google Assistant has this ability to be used without taking your history into account.
What is guest mode
All Android phones and tablets have the ability to create one or more users to use a device. When you log in to Google and complete the initial configuration, the first user is created, however it is possible to have several on the same mobile. Each user can have their own accounts and installed applicationsand they cannot access other users' space.
This allows you to keep the files, accounts and applications of two people separate on the same mobile. One of the possibilities of this system is to create a guest user, thanks to which another person will be able to use the mobile to perform basic tasks such as writing an email or browsing the Internet. What is interesting in this sense is that it will do it from a space that will leave the mobile phone as if it were new. It's even possible to sign in to a Google account and download apps from Google Play.
This way you can be sure that when you leave your cell phone with another person, This will not be able to access any of the applications or files who are in there. Simply, how to use a brand new device, allowing the owner of the mobile phone to be assured that their information will not be seen by other people.
In this mode it is possible to make calls, download applications and any other type of task that can be performed with a smartphone. The camera and microphone are also activated, although for keep captured files in this modeIt's better to share them or disable the option to delete local files when you exit guest mode. And you can configure it so that every time this mode is exited, all traces of the guest user are deleted.
How to configure it
All Android phones from version 5.0 have the option to activate this mode from Settings. The option is found in the System section, under the Multiple Users heading. From this section you can add a new user, in case two people need to use the same mobile phone, or simply configure the guest user to lend the phone to another person.
Once this mode is created, you can decide if you want to keep the generated files while in use or if you want to delete them all when returning to normal mode. Beyond this option, it doesn't have many others, beyond the general Android options accessible from the settings.
For practical reasons, once the mobile enters this mode, it will be as if you had a new mobile, No apps installed or files to access. The good thing is that it remembers WiFi keys, so you will have an Internet connection as soon as you enter guest mode.
Switching between guest mode and user mode is as easy as pulling down the notification curtain and clicking the user icon next to the settings icon. If your mobile phone does not appear in this section, simply go to the System section, in Settings, to return to normal usage mode. To secure this change, the device will ask for the password with which the device is unlocked.
