Q&A: How do I remove the PIN from my Android phone?

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Question from Angie: I started dating a guy a few months ago. I really liked him but he had an annoying habit of picking up my phone and looking at my called logs.

I think he was checking up on me to see if I was calling other guys. I didn’t like him spying on me that way and I told him so, but he kept on doing it.

I finally had my son put a sign-in PIN on my phone so the guy I was dating wouldn’t be able to get into it.

We recently broke up so I no longer need the PIN. It’s a real hassle having to put it in every time I need to use the phone.

My son has since gone into the military so he isn’t here to remove the PIN for me. Can you tell me how to do it? It’s an Android phone from Straight Talk.

Rick’s answer: Angie, I’ll be happy to help you with this, but first I really feel the need to urge you to reconsider your decision to remove it.

While it’s true that you no longer need the PIN to protect your privacy from your intrusive ex, there are other reasons why you might want to consider keeping it.

The obvious example is what could happen if you lose your phone and someone else happens to find it.

Or what if it simply gets stolen?

In either of those cases, having a PIN enabled on your phone would prevent whoever manages to take possession of it from being able to make illicit use of the phone and all the personal and financial info that you might have stored on it.

Now that we have that out of the way, if you still wish to remove the PIN from your phone just follow the steps listed below.

Note: The exact steps required to add, change or remove a sign-in PIN vary just a bit from phone to phone, but the procedure below should be fairly close to what’s required for your phone. If not you’ll need to consult your phone’s user manual for exact instructions.

1 – Tap the Settings icon.

2 – Scroll down and tap either Security & privacy or Security (depending on what’s showing on your particular device).

3 – Tap either Device lock or Screen lock (depending on what’s showing on your particular device).

4 – Again, tap either Device lock or Screen lock (depending on what’s showing on your particular device).

5 – Enter the PIN that’s currently set for your phone.

6 – Tap None.

I hope this helps, Angie. Good luck!

Update from Angie: Thanks, Rick. Based on your recommendation I decided to keep the PIN. I hadn’t really considered what might happen if I don’t have one on the phone and it makes sense to me.

Bonus tip: Android malware is getting worse by the day. You can protect your phone (and your identity and finances) with this. (#ad)