Why you should never use an unlock pattern to protect your Android phone

Android users should opt for passcodes and fingerprint scans rather than unlock patterns

Android unlock patterns a are easy to copy and less secure than fingerprint scanners and passcodes, research has revealed

Bystanders with little technical expertise can copy the swipe combinations used to secure Android smartphones from distances of almost two metres, according to a study that compared the different unlocking systems.The study found that numbered passcodes, which are used on the iPhone and optional on Android phones, are far more secure.

Researchers at the US Naval Academy and the University of Maryland Baltimore County found "shoulder surfing" onlookers could easily guess security patterns by watching a victim unlock their phone. 

Android uses patterns between three rows of dots to unlock phones

They asked 1,173 people to watch a series of videos of people unlocking their devices and then repeat what they saw.

Almost two in three people who participated in the study were able to reproduce the patterns of six points on a three-by-three grid, often used on Android phones, by watching from a distance of between 1.5 and 1.8 metres. 

Guessing six-number passcodes made up of a string of numbers, which are used on iOS devices, proved significantly more difficult. Just one in 10 were able to recreate the codes needed to unlock a device. 

"PINs are the most secure [against] shoulder surfing attacks, and while both types of pattern input are poor, patterns without lines provide greater security," said the researchers. "The length of the input also has an impact; longer authentication is more secure." 

While 60 per cent of people could copy a pattern after seeing it once, and 80 per cent after seeing it twice, for six-digit pins this success rate dropped to 11 per cent after one watch and 27 per cent after two. 

This is in part because patterns are more memorable, and because the shape is easier to spy on compared with typed numbers, according to the researchers. 

Android users can opt to secure their phone with a password or passcode by going to Settings > Lock screen and security. The safest way, though, is to use the device's fingerprint scanner. 

Smartphone manufacturers including Apple and Samsung have introduced facial recognition unlocking on their latest devices, which lets users unlock their devices by looking at them

.

At a glance | Tips to secure your iPhone from hackers

1) Use a PIN or fingerprint security

Locking your screen will protect your sensitive data and apps from meddling. 

2) Or use a longer passphrase...

Go to your settings app, then "Touch ID & Passcode" and turn "Simple Passcode" off. This will allow you to create a longer and more complex passcode with upper and lowercase letters, numbers and other symbols.

3)Self destruct

You can tell your phone to delete all data if it thinks someone is trying to break in. Under the same page on settings you can enable "erase data" - this will wipe the phone clean after ten incorrect guesses at the PIN.

4) Privacy settings

Go into your settings app and then the "privacy" tab. Here you will be able to see which apps have which privileges, and turn them off/on.

5) Turn off notifications

The ability to see a summary of notifications on the lock screen is handy, but if that gives away personal or confidential data then you could be in trouble. Remember, it will show the contents of messages you receive, your calendar for that day and various other things.

6) Disable Siri

Siri can leak data even when your phone is locked. Go to settings, then “Touch ID & passcode” and set “allow access when locked” on Siri to off.

7) Type it yourself

AutoFill is a handy feature that does exactly what it says on the tin: any time that Safari sees a box asking for your name, username, password or credit card details, it fills them in for you. This is fine, unless someone else happens to be using your phone. To turn it off, go to settings, then general and "Passwords & AutoFill".

8) Update to the latest software

Make sure you update to the latest software whenever it's available, as Apple often releases new security features in these. Your phone will alert you when there's a new update available, or you can manually check by going to Settings -> General -> Software Update