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The built-in app locker in OxygenOS isn’t all that secure, OnePlus working on a fix

OxygenOS — the Android ROM that’s present on OnePlus phones — comes outfitted with a lot of exclusive features and customization options that you won’t find on stock Android. One of OxygenOS’s most useful additions is a built-in app locker, but as evidenced by a recent ‘hack’, this extra security measure isn’t as secure as it should be…

The app-locker in OxygenOS is supposed to prevent unwanted people from snooping on applications that you don’t want them to have access to, and it does so by requiring you to either scan your fingerprint or type in a PIN/password to access said app. However, after performing a few simple steps on a OnePlus phone (via XDA-developers), this app lock screen can be easily bypassed.

In order to get passed OnePlus’s built-in app locker, you’ll need to be using a OnePlus phone running OxygenOS and have a third party launcher installed (e.g. Nova Launcher, Action Launcher, etc.). XDA used Nova for its demonstration, and the process for doing this is actually quite simple.

All you have to do is go to Nova’s settings page, add an activity to App Locker, and you’ll then have a new shortcut on your home screen for jumping right to the App Locker page for turning it on and off for whatever apps you’d like without having to enter a PIN or password like you normally would.

OnePlus has since responded and said that it’s aware of the issue at hand at that it will be “fixing it in an upcoming OTA.” There’s no ETA as to when this over-the-air update will be hitting, but in the meantime, you probably don’t have too much to worry about. We’re glad that OnePlus is on top of things and working on a fix, but out of all the potential bugs that can pop up, this is certainly one of the less damaging. If you keep your phone locked, you shouldn’t have any problems.

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Avatar for Joe Maring Joe Maring

Joe has been a writer and occasional video producer for 9to5Google since July 2017. Follow him on Twitter @JoeMaring1 and send all emails to joe@9to5mac.com.


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