Whenever someone asks you for your phone, it feels as if they have asked your life. You know why? Because you are scared to death that they may see your personal chats, call logs, private apps and what not. But then, maybe it’s your best friend, you mom or dad or your kid who has asked for your phone and you can’t say no to them. Or, it could even be that it’s a device that you use for official purposes.
So, is there a way you can save the crucial data on your device from getting exposed? Can you control what the other person can have access to on your device?
You’ll be happy to know that if you are an Android user, there are guest mode apps for Android that can help you restrict access to apps. And that’s not the only thing they do, guest mode apps also help you track the user’s data usage; help you customize the home screen as per your whims and fancies and what not.
But, Before that..
We’ll quickly tell you how you can use the inbuilt guest mode on Android. We aren’t against it but later in the blog, we’ll even tell you why you should opt for the app route also. One reason is that you might not have a guest mode at all (the chances of which are likely). For those who have an Android guest mode feature, here’s how you could enable it –
Either follow the path Settings> Users and accounts > Users > Guest
Or,
1. Swipe down your notifications tray
2. Tap on the avatar icon
3. Tap on the + sign and add guest
4. Once the user is done, tap again on the user icon, tap on remove guest and remove
Guest Mode Apps For Android At A Glance
S.No. | App Name | Rating | Download Link |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kiosk Lockdown LimaxLock | 4.4 | Install Here |
2 | AUG Launcher | 4.2 | Install Here |
3 | Kids Place | 4.1 | Install Here |
1. Kiosk Lockdown LimaxLock
As the name of the app suggests it converts your device into a kiosk. With this mode you can restrict the use of apps. Which means the person you give the phone to will have limited access to certain apps, social media accounts and games only. The guest mode app can be great if you wish to keep an eye on what your kids are doing on your device in real-time. To get back to the normal mode, you just have to enter your assigned password.
- Assign password to application
- Customize wallpapers, layout and captions
- You can even disable power button
- After the guest has used the application you can check duration, launch time and usage
- You can even hide icons of applications that you have allowed the other person to use
2. AUG Launcher
Although intended as a gesture app, AUG launcher efficiently doubles up as a guest mode apk as well. There are actually two modes namely owner mode and guest mode. AUG also has a full-fledged app locker as well.
- When you give your device to someone else, AUG shifts all your desired sensitive data to your account
- You can hide apps which will not appear in the guest mode
- Highly customizable
- With guest mode even the widgets hide
- Easily resume hidden apps by gesture and swipe
- Hidden apps are powered by password
Read More: Best Spy Apps For iPhone
3. Kids Place
While kids place is a guest mode app made specifically keeping kids in mind, it can be used for putting restrictions. With the help of this app you can even put data restrictions as well. The best part is that the app has no ads and is free of cost.
- Select apps that the person can use
- Block purchases from Google play and restrain the other user from downloading apps
- Set timer to limit the use of the phone and control screen time (premium feature)
- Prevent the other person from uninstalling the app and PIN protect them (premium feature)
- Restart the device to bypass the app
A Great Guest User Android App That Needs Mention
Safe: Protect Your Privacy
Even though we are mentioning it in the last but in no way is it any less as compared to its competitors. In fact, it is one of the most simple looking and effective apps with the help of which you can enable guest accounts with Android.
- It’s merely 2 MB in size
- Comes with two modes – Admin mode (you) and guest mode (the other person)
- You can easily block apps that you don’t want the other user to use
- As soon as a user tries to have an access to a blocked app, he or she will receive a crash dialogue because of which they’ll believe that it’s a fault
- You can easily see if an intruder tries to barge into your phone and open it without your permission
In The End
Now, we’ll answer the question we’d left earlier. Why would you need a dedicated guest mode app when the same feature is in your device?
Unlike apps that allow you to enable guest mode, you can’t make calls when the inbuilt guest mode feature is enabled on your device. Secondly, you cannot block applications that you don’t want a user to use but with apps specifically aimed at enabling guest mode, you can choose apps that you just don’t want a user to snoop in.
With that we’ll conclude this blog and for more such interesting content, keep reading Tweak Library. Also, do follow us on all social media platforms.
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