Survey shows 98% of Android users want at least one of these big PIN upgrades
Old vs new lock screen PIN entry screen UI in Android
A regular lock screen PIN on your Android phone does the job most of the time, but what if you're forced to unlock your phone when you really don't want to? That's where things get tricky. We recently asked you whether Android should go beyond the basics and offer something more innovative, such as a duress or decoy PIN. Plenty of you had a view about it.
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If you missed the original discussion, the idea came from GrapheneOS, which already supports a duress PIN that can wipe everything on your device in one go. It's a powerful safeguard, but as my colleague Rita pointed out in her analysis, it also feels overkill for most of us. A decoy PIN seems like the more approachable alternative. Instead of erasing your data, it would unlock a separate profile or a sandboxed version of your phone with nothing sensitive inside. That way, if someone forced you to hand over your device, you could still comply without exposing your stuff or alerting the other party to your action.
In theory, Android already has the foundations for this through its multi-user system, but it would need a bit of polish to make the experience seamless. With those pros and cons in mind, we wanted to know which option you'd prefer, if any. Your response was fairly emphatic, as the results below show.
Do you want a duress or decoy PIN on Android?
While the preferences are mixed, the first thing that jumps out from the results is that almost 98% of you wanted at least one of the decoy and duress PIN options. Half of you wanted both, with the option to choose depending on the situation. Of those who felt that just one PIN upgrade was preferable, the majority thought a decoy PIN and profile would be useful, with less than 9% wanting just a kill switch option.
It's rare to see 98% of people in favor of anything, so we certainly hope that Google takes note of these results. While the GapheneOS-style duress PIN would be better than nothing for almost 60% of you, a less drastic decoy PIN is clearly viewed as the best outcome, whether alongside the duress option or not. Those who only wanted the decoy are of the same mind as Rita insofar as the mere presence of an instant-wipe function risks it accidentally being triggered at some point.
The discussion in the comments section of Rita's article showed just how many different angles people are coming from. One reader, Rolynda, explained, 'Xiaomi phones have exactly this feature, called 'second space.' You put in a different pin or fingerprint and bam; it's like the first doesn't exist.' This is indeed about as close to a decoy profile as Android gets today, though not as totally invisible in the settings or the transition between profiles as some people would hope for.
Going a step further, reader Jhanely suggested using different fingers to unlock different profiles: the index finger for games, the middle finger for calls and texts, and so on. This twist on biometrics might get a bit fiddly for some people, but it would be a nice-to-have option that could be disabled by default out of the box.
Not everyone was convinced. Some readers worried a decoy could be abused or that tools used by law enforcement would blow right past it. User Glen Pagliaccio pointed out, 'Marital cheaters will love the decoy profile. I'm not sure this will be good for humanity. Bring on the duress PIN.' Whatever side you land on, there's a lot of room for Android to expand its lock screen logic.
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