TimePIN and TimeLock: Time-based Android Apps to Lock, Hide Your Data

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 13 Feb 2014

With TimePIN, the current time or the current date becomes the PIN that will unlock your Android. If the time is 02:13 or 14:13, then the PIN that will unlock your Android is 0213 or 14:13.

With TimeLock, you can hide photos and videos in a secure vault, a vault that is cleverly disguised as a clock. To open the vault, you must move the hands of the clock to the time you set as your passcode.

It is a good idea to set a PIN on your Android so that others cannot access your device. That’s what the TimePIN app does – it prevents others from accessing your device by asking for a PIN. Here’s the interesting thing about TimePIN: the PIN changes based on the time of the day and based on the date. You see, you can set it so the current time will be your Android’s PIN. You can also set it so the current date is your Android’s PIN.

If the time is 02:00 or 14:00, the PIN number is 0200 or 1400. To make things a bit more complicated, the app lets you access a few modifiers: double PIN (1234 becomes 12341234), mirror PIN (1234 becomes 12344321), reverse PIN (1234 becomes 4321).

Say your girlfriend wants to sneakily gain access to your device and every time you unlock it, she takes a quick peak to try and guess your PIN. Thanks to TimePIN, every time she sneaks a peak, you will enter a different PIN. That will surely confuse her, keep her guessing, and keep her out of your phone.

TimePIN is available on Google’s Play Store here.



It is also a good idea to keep important photos and videos safe. This is something you can do with TimeLock. The app lets you hide photos and videos inside a secure vault. Said vault is disguised to look like a clock. If someone uses your Android, say your girlfriend for example, she won’t have any idea that what looks like a simple clock app is actually a secure vault for your photos and videos.

TimeLock is available on Google’s Play store here.






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