Any Android Phone Encryption Technique

Google introduced full-device encryption back in Android Gingerbread (2.3.x), but it has undergone some dramatic changes since then. On some higher-end handsets running Lollipop (5.x) and higher, it’s enabled out-of-the-box, while on some older or lower-end devices, you have to turn it on yourself.

Why to Encrypt a phone:

Encryption stores your phone’s data in an unreadable, seemingly scrambled form. (To actually perform the low-level encryption functions, Android uses dm-crypt, which is the standard disk encryption system in the Linux kernel. It’s the same technology used by a variety of Linux distributions.) When you enter your PIN, password, or pattern on the lock screen, your phone decrypts the data, making it understandable. If someone doesn’t know the encryption PIN or password, they can’t access your data. (On Android 5.1 and above, encryption doesn’t require a PIN or password, but it’s highly recommended since not having one would reduce the effectiveness of the encryption.)

Start by heading into the Settings menu and tapping on “Security,” again keeping in mind that the wording may be slightly different. If your device is already encrypted, it will show up here. Some devices will also allow SD card contents to be encrypted, but by default Android just encrypts on-board storage. If the device isn’t encrypted, you can start the process by tapping the “Encrypt phone” option.

he next screen will present a warning to let you know what to expect once the process is finished, most of which we’ve already talked about in this article. If you’re ready to proceed, hit the “Encrypt phone” button.

The phone will then reboot and start the encryption process. A progress bar and estimated time till completion will show up, which should at least provide an idea of how long you’ll be without your beloved handset. Just wait, it’ll all be okay soon. You can do this. You’re strong. Once it’s finished, the phone will reboot and you’re back in business. If you set up a lock screen password, PIN, or pattern, you’ll have to put it in now so the device will finish the boot process. If you haven’t set up a PIN or password, now is a good time to do so. Head into your device’s Settings > Security menu. From there, select the “Screen Lock” option (keep in mind that the wording may be slightly different for non-stock Android handsets, like Samsung Galaxy devices).

Choose Pattern, PIN, or Password to set your security.

You’ll be asked if you want to require the PIN, password, or pattern at startup. This is up to you, but we recommend choosing yes, since this increases the security of your device.

Note that even with a fingerprint reader, you can’t use a fingerprint to unlock a device on first boot—you’ll have to put in the password, PIN, or pattern. After the device has been decrypted with the correct security unlocking method, the fingerprint reader can be used to unlock the screen moving forward. From now on, your device will be encrypted, but if you ever want to disable it, you can do so by performing a factory reset. If you have a newer device that has encryption enabled out of the box, there’s no way to remove said encryption—not even with a factory reset.