ShutteLag

My own father is one of those people who buys a new flagship phone (usually Samsung) every 12 months. He's gone through so many phones, I've lost count. He also travels quite a bit for pleasure.(somehow managed to remain a 1K member at UA and for the last 8 years, even with UA's PQD requirement, considering that he always buys the cheapest available fare) So, he's a seasoned traveler...

Then I noticed something shocking... He *never* puts a lock screen on any of his phones. No PIN, no fingerprint, no nothing.. he even disable the swipe screen, so as soon as the phone screen turns on, it's on the home screen.

This came out because he told me he was about to upgrade his 11-month-old S7 edge to the S8 Plus next week. I commented that the fingerprint sensor has moved to the back and he just said "so? I never lock my phones anyway" (!)

Call me crazy, but isn't that a little too dangerous? Obviously, I couldn't manage to convince him to change this behavior, or I wouldn't be posting about it here...

chx1975

I have the swipe screen but not a lock screen. What for? If the phone is stolen any competent thief will factory reset it in a heartbeat. If I lose and it's a benign lost-and-found I will want the kind person finding my Nexus 7 to be able to discover it is mine. So... what for?

fppmongo

A competent thief may make use of your email account, logins to ecommerce sites, credit card data, identity etc. At the very least, if he's not particularly into digital, he could at least sell that data. Fairly easy to do online...

Moot point. You can display a custom message on your lock screen. Just put your phone number or email address there. An honest finder then can easily get in touch with you.

EDIT: A custom message on the lock screen was available on the Nexus 7 from the get-go, earlier before non-Nexus devices got the feature. I remember well from when I still had mine.

Silver Fox

I do. I am not worried about thieves. I am worried about my friends getting hold of it if I leave it unattended !

TravelingNomads

Not too long ago we found a nice phone on the ground. I can't remember if it was locked or not, but I think it was. Anyway, it had a picture of the owner as the screensaver or background (can't remember). Anyway, after walking around the picnic area for a minute we were able to spot her and return the phone that she didn't even know was missing.

wco81

One nice thing about TouchID on my iPhone 6S Plus is that I can use it to authenticate a lot of apps, including bank apps, airline apps., etc.

I don't think I can turn on TouchID, for use with third-party as well as Apple apps., without it turning on the lock screen.

Also Apple Pay is great too, definitely faster and more secure to use, especially for travel overseas where you'd normally have to sign for a bunch of small transactions and have to manage all the receipts (which would have part of your real credit card number).

So does the OP's father not ever authenticate when he uses apps? Is he often having to enter in passwords?

TGarza

Settings, touch ID and passcode and select/unselect for iPhone unlock with no impact on third party apps.

wco81

Good to know, but if I'm going to set up TouchID, I will use the lock screen anyways, unlock is instant.

TGarza

I agree. I believe the feature to turn off TouchID to unlock the iPhone was added after courts have ruled people could be forced to unlock their phones with fingerprints but cannot force the passcode to be turned over.

BlueEngineer

I typically use either a pin or fingerprint lock when not traveling, but will disable fingerprint for domestic travel, and change to a password when traveling internationally.

I'm lost more phones when traveling than any other time combined, so have decided that it's better safe than sorry. Would take quite a bit of work to change all my account passwords if I lost an unlocked (or weakly locked phone)

ShutteLag

but it doesn't apply when requested by the US CBP at ports of entry.... they have the legal authority to demand the passcodes. or am I wrong?

TGarza

CBP have been allowed to overreach for sometime against US citizens. My favorite question from CBP at Newark, "Why are you requesting entry into the United States?" My response "because I am natural born citizen of the United States returning to my home"

Loren Pechtel

I know someone who doesn't, either. I find it crazy.

Burnsie

True, but having a lock screen adds a layer of security to protect your data - emails, messages, contacts, photographs, etc. In fact if my phone is ever stolen, I hope that the thief does factory reset it.

Also I'm fairly sure that Android Pay doesn't work unless the device has a security lock on it.

So true!

wco81

You can't factory reset iOS devices without authenticating with AppleID.