Simpliguides › Mobile Devices › Android
How to turn on Advanced Protection on an Android phone
Advanced Protection is a single switch that turns on Android's strongest security settings all at once and stops them being switched off again. It blocks app installs from outside Google Play, keeps the phone off 2G networks, cuts USB data while the phone is locked and locks in Chrome's safer browsing settings. It is off by default. This guide shows where the switch is on a Pixel, with the Samsung route under Variations.
What you'll need: A phone running Android 16 or later (Samsung phones need One UI 8 or later). A screen lock already set: a PIN, pattern, password or fingerprint. Read What it changes under Variations first if you install apps from outside Google Play, because Advanced Protection stops that.
Open Security & privacy
Open Settings, scroll down and tap Security & privacy.
Tap Advanced Protection
Scroll to the bottom of the page. Under Other settings, tap Advanced Protection.
Switch on Device protection
At the top of the page, switch on Device protection. The phone asks for your PIN, pattern or fingerprint before it continues.
Confirm
A box explains what the setting does. Tap Turn on.
Decide about Intrusion Logging
The phone next offers to set up Intrusion Logging. This keeps an encrypted record of unusual activity on the phone and backs it up to a Google Account you choose, so a security specialist can examine it later if you think the phone has been compromised. Most people can skip this. If you want it, tap through and pick the Google Account to store the logs in.
Restart if asked
Some of the protections only take effect after a restart, so the phone may ask you to restart now. Tap Restart and unlock the phone when it comes back.
Check it's on
Go back to Settings → Security & privacy → Advanced Protection. Device protection should show as on, and the page lists each protection now in force, grouped under headings such as apps, network, web and theft.
Variations
Open Settings and tap Google. Tap the All services tab at the top, scroll to Personal & device safety and tap Advanced Protection. Switch on Device protection and tap Turn on, then carry on from step 5. This needs One UI 8 or later. Samsung's own Auto Blocker, under Security and privacy, is a separate feature and can stay on alongside it.
With Advanced Protection on, the phone won't install apps from anywhere other than Google Play and the app store that came with the phone. The Install unknown apps permission is greyed out for every app. Apps you installed from elsewhere before turning it on stay put and keep updating. Google Play Protect scanning stays on and can't be turned off. The phone refuses 2G mobile networks, which are the ones used by fake mobile masts to intercept calls and texts. USB data is cut off while the phone is locked, so a cable only charges it until you unlock. Chrome keeps Safe Browsing and HTTPS-only browsing on. Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock are on, and a phone left locked for 72 hours restarts itself, which puts its data back into the fully encrypted state it has before the first unlock. Only verified accessibility apps are allowed to run.
Go to Settings → Security & privacy → Advanced Protection (or the Google route on a Samsung), switch off Device protection and confirm with your PIN, pattern or fingerprint. The individual protections can't be switched off one at a time; it's all or nothing.
Troubleshooting
Either the phone is on an older Android version, or it's a Samsung. Check the version under Settings → About phone → Android version; it needs to be 16 or later, and the update, if there is one, is under Settings → System → Software updates. On a Samsung, use the Google route under Variations.
That is Advanced Protection doing its job. The Install unknown apps switch stays greyed out with a message saying it's disabled by Advanced Protection. To install an app from a file, switch Advanced Protection off first, install it following our APK guide, then switch Advanced Protection back on. The app you installed carries on working.
Advanced Protection blocks 2G. In rural spots or inside some buildings, 2G may be the only signal left, so the phone shows nothing rather than drop to it. Turn Advanced Protection off temporarily if you need to make a call from there.
USB data stays off while the phone is locked. Unlock the phone, then unplug the cable and plug it in again.
Need a calculator rather than a guide? Try Simplicalcs →