Entering your phone’s PIN in public could be less scary with Android 14
Entering your phone’s PIN in public could be less scary with Android 14
As Android Police reports, the upcoming version of Android will make it easier to conceal your PIN from prying eyes. Android 14 will include a new setting called “Enhanced PIN privacy” that will require you to enter your PIN twice before it’s visible on your screen.
This setting is designed to prevent “shoulder surfers” from seeing your PIN when you enter it in public. Shoulder surfers are people who try to sneaky peek over your shoulder to see what you’re typing.
Enhanced PIN privacy will only work if your phone is locked. That means if you’re using a PIN to unlock your phone, you’ll have to enter it twice every time you want to unlock it. But once you’re unlocked, you won’t have to enter your PIN again until you lock your phone.
If you’re using a pattern or password to unlock your phone, you’ll still only have to enter it once.
This setting is off by default, so you’ll have to enable it if you want to use it. To do so, go to Settings -> Security -> Enhanced PIN privacy.
Android 14 is currently in beta, so it could be a while before it’s released to the public. In the meantime, you can try it out by signing up for the Android Beta Program.
