Prevent unauthorized users from accessing certain features on your unattended Android smartphone and tablet. App lockers can effectively secure your contacts list and SMS text messages, for example, or hide certain photos and videos on the multimedia gallery of your mobile device. This article explores the features of seven app lockers that can be downloaded for free from the Google Play store.

Protect your privacy by barring access to the critical features of your Android smartphone and tablet. A good app locker can prevent kids in your household, for example, from accidentally making calls on your unattended mobile phone.

Consider taking advantage of these seven app lockers to selectively and effectively secure key areas on your mobile device using a PIN, pattern, or gesture. These apps can be downloaded for free from the Google Play store.

AppLock

AppLock enables you to conveniently lock any feature on your Android device, including your SMS text messages, contacts list, multimedia gallery, settings, and Facebook account. It can also hide specific images and videos from showing up on your multimedia gallery. To unlock restricted applications and files, simply enter your PIN on the AppLock keypad. To ensure that AppLock cannot be uninstalled or disabled by task-killing applications without entering the correct PIN, remember to activate Advanced Protection.

Application-Locker

Like AppLock, Application-Locker comes with an Advanced Security feature that you should activate to prevent unauthorized users from disabling or uninstalling it. The free version of Application-Locker safeguards individual applications on your Android device through three locking modes – fake crash (a fake crash screen appears whenever a locked app is opened), pattern, and PIN. There will be a log showing intrusion attempts on your protected device, as well as an email backup in case you forget your password.

Smart AppLock (App Protector)

Smart AppLock is another richly featured and free Android app that secures your mobile device using a gesture, password, or pattern. What’s great about Smart AppLock is its ability to automatically take a picture of whoever is making failed attempts at unlocking your device. It also enables you to set up a unique password for every application you want to protect. Other useful features of Smart AppLock include Wi-Fi whitelisting to automatically disable the app locker in whitelisted areas, Lock Time capability to set specific time frames for when the app locker becomes active, as well as a Remote Lock functionality that enables you to block access to your Android device by texting an SMS keyword.

Apps Locker

Simple and highly functional, Apps Locker is another free Android application that allows you to password-protect specific features on your smartphone or tablet. Apps Locker‘s software developer, AndUtil, touts not saving your password and personal information on its server. Instead, your data is stored locally on your mobile device.

Message Locker

Protect your mobile chat sessions and sensitive messages from unauthorized viewers by installing Message Locker. If your main priority is to password-protect your SMS text messages, emails, and conversations in online services like Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Skype, SnapChat, Tango, and Viber, then the free Message Locker app is the perfect option for your Android device.

Photo Locker

Do you want to hide certain images from showing up on the gallery of your Android smartphone or tablet? Then consider using the Photo Locker app to secure sensitive images with a PIN. Choose the images that you want to hide, share to Photo Locker, and select Folder. Photo Locker encrypts the hidden images. So, even if you lose the SD card and someone attempts to copy or view the hidden images, the locked pictures will remain inaccessible.

Video Locker

Video Locker comes from the same software developer as Photo Locker. This free app offers the same encryption level to your hidden videos, as well as secures them on a PIN-accessible secret location on your Android device.