The lock screen on your android device can keep you from pocket dialing, keep other people out, or just get in the way. It is recommended to use a PIN to gain access to your phone but it could also be a false sense of security if people are under the impression that the lock screen is bulletproof or provides some sort of encryption.
I fall in the camp of the lock screen getting in the way most of the time. It’s just one more thing to pass through until you can get the app launched that you want. Making the lock screen a bit more useful and actually assisting in getting to the information you want, I checked out Active Lock Screen.
It’s a little bit of a change going from the Samsung TouchWiz built-in lock screen where I can swipe anywhere but the Active Lock Screen allows more app selection from the lock screen for a faster launch.
The Active Lock Screen by Celltick Ltd. allows you to drag an “unlock ring” to various areas for quick access. You can drag it to a phone to make a call and your frequently contacts will pop out as further options. I can start dialing my wife from the lock screen with a drag to the phone and then drag to her contact.
Similarly, I can have selected apps available with a similar gesture, camera-related apps, and recent apps (automatically populated). You can also drag to unlock or mute/vibrate from the lower right.
You can customize the lock screen with various themes. Just download them and point to them in the Active Lock Screen settings. There are some splashy ones out there. I like the rocket theme but I might change it because the typography they use can be a little hard to read (the ‘1’ looks like ‘7’) in the date/time.
Check it out if you don’t use the lock screen for a password/pin for security.