Hide stuff on your smartphone from prying eyes using an app called AppLock. This privacy protector app can restrict access to apps, media files, and almost anything else from unauthorized individuals on your smartphone. Moreover, you can hide the icon of the AppLock itself. How? We’ll show you how.
Some people take privacy seriously. And they should too as we all should. As we use a smartphone the most and it probably has most of our sensitive data, it is natural to have an urge to get protective towards the smartphone. We want to limit what others see in our smartphones if not deny the use of it altogether. Here’s how to hide the AppLock icon from the home screen/app launcher.
This guide will show how to hide/unhide the AppLock icon, access Applock using code number and prevent uninstallation too.
Hide AppLock icon from the app launcher
Before we begin, its good to check if the app has any pending updates. Go to the Google Play Store app and check if there is any update. When that’s been taken care of, follow the steps below;
Step 1: Tap on the AppLock icon from the home screen or the app launcher.
Step 2: You should be on the Privacy tab by default. The option we’re looking for is on the Protect tab. Tap on the Protect tab located at the top right side.
Step 3: Under the Protect tab, tap on the Magic section. This will expand the section and there you need to enable Hide AppLock option.
Step 4: Make sure you read the instructions carefully and then activate the option to hide AppLock’s icon.
After you’ve successfully completed all the steps, you will get a toast notification saying the icon is not hidden. Go ahead and check your home screen or the app launcher. You can’t find it can you? So how do you access all your protected files and apps then? There are two ways to do that.
Method 1: You can use your phone’s dial pad to get in AppLock. It’s simple. All you have to do is type in code *#*#12345#*#* or #password and the app will open.
Method 2: You can also use a web browser to access hidden AppLock. Open any web browser and in the URL bar type domobile.com/applock. Follow the instructions and you’ll get in the app. Note that you will need an active internet connection for this method.
Secure AppLock will a password or pattern
These two methods are for accessing the hidden app, but they do not protect the files and apps that are hidden by AppLock. For that you need to secure AppLock will a password or pattern. To do so, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open AppLock.
Step 2: Go to the Protect tab and expand the Security section.
Step 3: Tap on Unlock Settings and then choose Pattern or Password.
Step 4: Configure the password or pattern.
Prevent Uninstalltion
There’s one loophole that probably most of the users ignore. If someone uninstalled the app itself, all the data protected by it will be exposed. But there is a way to prevent unauthorized individuals from uninstalling AppLock.
Step 1: Open AppLock.
Step 2: Select Install / Uninstall from the Privacy tab.
Step 3: Under Advanced, there are options to prevent apps from uninstalling AppLock. Tap on the “lock” icon to lock the specific app from uninstalling AppLock.
