- Setting or unsetting an application on Android is not only useful if we want to make sure that it remains open, as when we use Google Maps or similar services, but also to protect
- This is one of the simplest mechanisms that allow us to keep our smartphone on without running the risk of others accessing the inside of the other applications
Like most users, you probably also have some favorite applications or those that, at the end of the day, are the ones that you use the most throughout the day. In those cases, it doesn’t make sense to have to search for them among all the open apps on your smartphones. That is why there is the possibility of pinning or unpinning those apps that you use the most on your phone screen, so let’s see how to pin or unpin an Android application .
The first thing to highlight is that we are going to carry out this tutorial on Android 11 , the latest stable version of the Google people’s operating system for mobile devices, although there are no major changes in previous generations or for those who are already testing the Android 12 public beta on your computers.
What is this trick for? Basically, so that any other person, or even yourself, cannot open another application until the one that was pinned has been closed, since the phone will ask for the password to allow access, making it work almost like a screen of lock .
How to pin or unpin apps on Android step by step
Enable feature first
As curious as it may seem, this feature is disabled from the factory in many Android devices, so we will have to activate it first . It is not complicated at all, and we can do it from the Terminal Configuration:
- Open the phone’s Settings menu
- Click on Password and security
- Scroll to the app pinning and click on it
- Enable this feature on your Android from the lever, accepting the warning
Set or unset an application to your liking
Once you have enabled the app pinning function on your mobile, let’s see what are the steps to follow to pin and unpin an Android application, which is also quite simple :
- Open any app you want to pin on your phone
- Swipe up and hold until you see the other apps
- On the next screen, click on the three dots in the upper right corner
- Some options will appear, among which you must press Set, accepting the warning again
As we have said, once you have an app set, those who use your phone will not be able to open other apps until it closes. Therefore, it is also a mechanism oriented to security and privacy.
And how to unpin an app?
The latter is just as important as the former, and it won’t take you more than a couple of seconds:
- Swipe up on the pinned app, and hold from the bottom of the app
- Unlock your phone using PIN, password or biometrics
As you can see, setting or unsetting an Android application is not complicated at all, and we believe that you could well get used to this trick, as many have gotten used to setting WhatsApp conversations on Android .
