# Do you lock your phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815 "2013-05-08T17:05:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/21 "2013-05-08T19:04:35Z")
I lock it because there are apps I use a lot that require me to enter a password when I use them if the phone itself isn’t locked. If the phone is locked the app knows that and doesn’t require to me to enter a password when I use it. So it’s easier to enter one 4 digit code upon entry to the phone OS than to enter a password for each application. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/22 "2013-05-08T19:11:23Z")
Nope. Nothing on there that really needs the protection. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/23 "2013-05-08T19:12:47Z")
I use the Android swipe-pattern lock screen, which is quicker and easier than entering a PIN but has about the same security (if you’re careful not to let anyone shoulder-surf). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/24 "2013-05-08T19:15:52Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I do, and I’ve been doing it for a few years now so I don’t even think about it anymore. It takes me about .5 seconds to unlock it. Hardly a burden, considering everything it’s protecting. My “password” is a ‘connect the dots’ code, which seems easier to me to do quickly than entering numbers or letters. I used to think the connect-the-dots codes were pretty unbreakable until my then 9yo started getting on my phone for a round of Angry Birds. When asked how she was able to get on my phone, she told me that she held it so that the light reflected off the screen so she could see my swipe pattern. Now I just use a PIN. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/25 "2013-05-08T19:36:21Z")
Always. Too much stuff they could cause trouble with. Access to the phone would mean access to my email, which could be used for a lot of password resets. My husband and I use the same 4-digit codes for our phones, and the kids (teenagers) know the codes. When we gave my son an iPhone for graduation last year, we strongly encouraged him to use that same code (and he did). The end result is that we can all use each others’ phones in an emergency but someone with less-honorable intentions could not. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/26 "2013-05-08T20:31:04Z")
Yes. I also make sure every family member does. I’m sure that an iPhone thief would simply wipe it and resell it, but I have nightmares of some creepy dude going through my address book and looking at the pictures of each contact and deciding which ones to stalk, or which ones to extort with some scary “need money fast” story propped up with private knowledge gleaned from my phone. That and the fact that access to your email allows someone to reset all kinds of online passwords (fewer than before, but still enough to be a problem). I use the 4-digit one while home, and don’t even bother with a lock on my iPad, hoping that its clever disguise as a composition book will protect it from the casual thief. When in Brazil, I set the passwords on everything to something long and difficult, figuring that there is a pretty good chance that one of my iDevices might not come home. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/27 "2013-05-08T20:31:05Z")
Nope. I’d forget it and then where would I be? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/28 "2013-05-08T20:35:21Z")
Afternoon brain spasm; I voted ‘Yes’, but really meant to put ‘No’. Specifically, I have basic ‘screen lock’ on my phones (not sure if it’s possible to turn them off,) but no password/pin/secret visual code nonsense. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/29 "2013-05-08T20:43:36Z")
I lock my phone because if I didn’t, the guys at work would have a fun time pretending to be me on our internal chat service. Never, ever, leave anything unlocked in this office. You will get punk’d. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/30 "2013-05-08T20:51:30Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > I lock my phone but only because I’m forced to if I want to get work email through it. I would prefer keeping it unlocked all the time. This. If I’m not going to need work email for a while, I’ll turn off the email account and the password. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/31 "2013-05-08T20:58:38Z")
I do not - because if I were in any kind of accident, someone could use my phone to figure out who to call in case of emergency. If the phone were locked, then they would not be able to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/32 "2013-05-08T21:12:21Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > I can’t I have a flip phone. Duct tape!! 😃 I never lock my phone. I don’t have kids, extremely curious pets, and I NEVER, ever, ever leave it on a desk or (gasp!) bar top when I’m out. My friends amaze me with that shit. They go to the bathroom, out to smoke, they leave it sitting right on the bar! Hope they’re insured. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/33 "2013-05-08T21:33:30Z")
Locked via enforcement of company policy although I’m a bit surprised that the majority responses in the poll is no. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/34 "2013-05-08T21:40:15Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I do not - because if I were in any kind of accident, someone could use my phone to figure out who to call in case of emergency. If the phone were locked, then they would not be able to do that. If you have an Android phone, you can put a message on your lock screen. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/35 "2013-05-08T21:45:12Z")
I am surprised. The ones who keep their phones safe are the _minority_? I am the minority? I voted “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/36 "2013-05-08T21:49:02Z")
Yes - Android pattern lock. Takes me less time to swipe the pattern than to press the power button. Later Android (not sure about earlier versions) permits emergency calls without being unlocked. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/37 "2013-05-08T21:49:22Z")
Voted yes, although it’s not locked with a password. I have a dumb phone, and I keep it locked to prevent pocket dialing/texting. To unlock, you just have to hit the “select” button and then \*. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/38 "2013-05-08T22:04:22Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > I am surprised. The ones who keep their phones safe are the _minority_? There’s no such thing as _safe_ – a thief could watch over your shoulder for the password, or torture you for it, just try a bunch of combinations, or mount the phone on a computer and use a bypass. Everything in computer security is a balance between risk and usability. Many of those android phones have NFC in them, which may allow a hacker to steal your credit card information _merely by getting close to you_ and without you knowing. Swipe passwords are faster, but easily cracked by looking at the glass. If I lose my phone accidentally, most folks will give it back. If it’s stolen, most thieves are interested in the phone itself, not the info on it. I can wipe the device in 30 seconds from any computer, and I don’t store things like password databases on it. I don’t let the browser (on any device) store passwords for important sites, so thieves will still need a password to make purchases and such. Any damage done to the data on the phone can be restored from a backup in a half hour or so. In return for this, I get a phone that I can actually USE to make phone calls, send texts, and look things up quickly, without having to enter an alphanumeric code (my work doesn’t allow numeric-only PINS) 20-30 times a day. For me, that balance is fine. All I give up is access to work e-mail, and that was for their convenience–not mine–anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/39 "2013-05-08T22:08:40Z")
I have mine set to be locked when it’s first turned on. Does that count as _no_ or _yes_? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815/40 "2013-05-08T22:55:51Z")
I have a personal phone, which I do not lock. I also have a work phone, which I carry only when I’m at work or on-call, which is locked; this is enforced by policy, so I don’t have a choice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-phone/657815.md?page=3)