Disable notifications on Android's lock screen
Recent versions of the Android operating system display notifications on the lock screen of the device by default.
Some users may like this as it gives them access to notifications on first glance without having to unlock the device first to check out new notifications.
The functionality has one serious drawback in my opinion, however. Since notifications are shown on the lock screen, anyone with access to the Android device may see them as well.
While that is not a problem when we are talking about new chat messages usually, it may be one if you get two-factor authentication codes or other important information displayed there as well. Even chat messages may be an issue, if you don't want someone else to see messages when they lift up your phone or device.
I use PayPal and have configured the service to send me a verification code each time I sign in to the service. The code is displayed in full on the lock screen of the device and while that speeds up the process of entering it on the PayPal website, anyone else with access to the screen would see it in its entirety as well.
Disabling lock screen notifications
Luckily, there is an option in the settings to turn off lock screen notifications on Android. Please note that how you get there may be different on your device as some manufacturers use different layouts for the Settings on the device.
Update:
Here are the instructions for Android 10 on a Google Pixel 3a device:
- Open the Settings on the device.
- Go to Apps & notifications.
- Select Notifications.
- Find "Notifications on lockscreen" and tap on the feature.
- Select "Don't show notifications" or "show alerting notifications only".
Update End
The following applies to a Nokia 5 running Android 8.1 (which is more or less stock Android).
- Open the Settings on the device. I have to swipe up on the main screen and select Settings from the list of applications on the device.
- Select Security & Location when the Settings open.
- Activate Lock screen preferences on the screen.
- Tap on "On the lock screen".
- Select either "Hide sensitive notification content" or "Don't show notifications at all".
Select the "don't show" option if you don't want any notifications to appear on the lock screen.
Sensitive content is hidden on the lock screen but the notifications are still shown. Sensitive content includes new emails and chat messages among other things that are not shown anymore. You get a "contents hidden" or blank content area instead depending on your device so that you still know that new content is available but can't see anymore what it is until you unlock the device and open the notifications.
Tip: you can turn off notifications for individual applications installed on the Android device as well. Doing so blocks the application from notifying you. Note that this blocks notifications entirely, not only on the lock screen of the device.
You can long-tap on any notification in newer versions of Android to disable notifications for the selected app, or open the Settings to customize the notification permissions further.
Now You: How do you handle notifications on your mobile devices?
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?