AppLock is a free app from Hong Kong-based ivymobile.com that’s your personal security detail for all your content and privacy.
You use AppLock to safeguard images, videos, apps, and sensitive personal details with either a password or pattern lock. It’s like having your own security team 24/7 guarding your private data against intruders and snoopers by encrypting your gallery of photos and videos.
It’s also a useful tool to have on a shared computer as AppLock will stop hackers and children from tinkering with settings, deleting important documents, or making in-app purchases.
The app comes highly rated in Google Play and has been downloaded over 10 million times. User reviews are generally positive and attest to the app being small but powerful.
Lock Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and a host of other social media platforms
Protects Contacts, SMS texts, gallery, and email, etc.
Locks your system settings
Locks e-wallets such as Android Pay, PayPal, Samsung Pay, etc.
Locks third-party apps, including Gmail, games, and YouTube
Choice of password or pattern locks
Customizable themes
The main app features to be aware of are replacing the AppLock icon on your home screen and a timer/frequency tool to customize when AppLock is activated. You can manually enable or disable AppLock from within the app by tapping on the lock icon.
You can also save up to 50% of your battery power by enabling power saving in AppLock.
AppLock’s features are already relatively extensive, but more are on the way to beef security up even further.
The developers, ivymobile, were established in 2015 and now employ 80 people working on AppLock and a range of other useful utility tools.
Among the features in the pipeline are:
Using your AppLock password to lock your phone’s screen
Vaults for your images and videos
Force Stop, a feature that displays a fake crash screen to anyone using your phone’s keyboard
Fingerprint lock to secure your phone
Junk file cleaning to boost your phone’s speed.
The Android apps misleadingly included AppLock in their name and were banned from Google Play at the beginning of 2021. They were not connected to ivymobile’s offering, which continues to be hosted by the store.
Protects sensitive data
Takes a picture of anyone messing with your mobile
Extensive peace of mind
It’s free from Google Play
Only works on Android phones
The free version is supported by a lot of ads
Advanced features are only available with the premium version
AppLock is available in Google Play for Android phones only.
Once installed, AppLock requires that you set a PIN to pattern lock. You must take a note of your passcode, or you won’t be able to open the app or locked files.
The final step in setting up AppLock is to provide a recovery email address.
When the above is complete, you are taken to the main dashboard. Tap the Privacy tab, and then select everything you wish to have protected by tapping the lock icon beside the app or folder.
