With the latest preview build of what will eventually be the June Pixel Feature Drop, Android 13 QPR3 introduces a new “Enhanced PIN privacy” toggle that works to keep your PIN safer from anyone who would try to watch it from afar.
In recent months, there’s been a significant amount of attention drawn to the security of one’s smartphone and the pin/password/pattern used to unlock it. After all, if you can get into someone’s phone, you often have full access to their digital life, including the ability to change critical passwords like the one for your Google Account.
As such, Google has prepared a new way to help keep your lockscreen PIN secure on Pixel phones, though the feature should also work for other Android devices once updated. With the latest Android 13 QPR3 Beta installed, if you use PIN unlock, you should see a new toggle (under Settings > Security & privacy > Device lock > Gear icon) called “Enhanced PIN privacy.”
With the protection disabled (the default), your button presses are visible on the lockscreen when entering your PIN. Similarly, the actual numbers of your PIN appear on-screen, only hiding after a few seconds or after you press another number.
This original design is intended to offer some security while making it easier to see when you’ve pressed an incorrect digit. However, it has the unintended effect of making your exact PIN visible to any onlookers who are paying attention.
Once you enable Enhanced PIN privacy, pressing any of the number buttons results in no overt animation. The only thing that changes visually is that a new star appears in the box to acknowledge that you pressed a button. From a distance, the only thing someone looking at your phone would know for sure is the length of your PIN.
Unfortunately, the feature is a bit difficult to visually demonstrate as Android (wisely) blocks all screenshots and recordings of entering your lock screen PIN. My colleague Damien Wilde should be able to offer a proper look at Enhanced PIN privacy in his overview of Android 13 QPR3 features in the coming days.
One thing to note is that while the feature is indeed live as part of the Android 13 QPR3 Beta, there’s always a chance that Google may pull it before launch. That said, it seems to work exactly as intended, so we believe there’s a high probability that it will arrive as part of the June Pixel Feature Drop.
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