Did you know how to Encrypt & Decrypt Files on Android? Well, TechTanker will explain on this topic.
In an age where technology has grown rapidly as we feel today, everyone will want to keep their data safe. Like when we are moving all our work data from PC to Smartphone, we also want our data to be safer.
We have protected our gadgets with fingerprint locks, pattern locks, password locks, and pin locks, and even our face-based keys may have been set up for security for the device and data stored on our cell phones.
In the present time just using a screen lock is not enough. We can set application keys so that no one will be able to disrupt our privacy.
But what should be done with the contents in our device memory? Of course, this raises questions, namely: How To Encrypt & Decrypt Files on an Android Phone?
With an Android smartphone in hand, users can easily secure data by encrypting it. The user cannot access encrypted data unless he enters a key code or password that he has set to encrypt the data.
If the user forgets the code, the encrypted data will not be useful. There is no other way until this moment to decrypt data without a lock key or password.
So to help protect your data, we will explain some free methods and of course, it’s easy to practice.
Table of Contents
How To Encrypt & Decrypt Files on an Android Phone?
Method 1: Use the Built-in Options for Encryption & Decryption files.
Users can easily encrypt & decrypt files on Android phones from device settings without installing third-party applications. To try the Encryption & Decryption file method on this Android Phone, follow the steps below:
- Open Settings on your device.
- Scroll through the list until you find Security.
- Tap on Security, to open it.
- You will see Encrypt phone in the Security menu.
- As soon as you press on the desired option, you will see a page like the one below.
- Some writings suggest that you have to connect your phone to a charger because this process is a time-consuming process.
- You also need to set a Password lock as a screen lock for your device.
- Now it’s time, you can finally encrypt your external SD card/device.
- Now press the Encryption button at the bottom to start the process.
- You can choose the option you want.
- Next, you will see a progress bar indicating that the process is in progress.
- Your device may restart several times during the process and it can take maybe about 1 hour to complete the process depending on the amount of data stored in your device’s memory.
| Open Settings on your device |
| Tap on Security, to open it |
| Encrypt phone on the Security menu |
Decrypt Files Using Settings
- Open Settings on your device.
- Scroll through the list until you find Security.
- Tap Security, to open it.
- You will see the Decryption option in the Encryption menu.
- Press on it.
- You will see the page as you have seen before in the Encryption process which urges you to connect the phone to the charger.
- Now tap on the Decrypt Phone option at the bottom of the screen.
Now your phone may also restart several times as in the encryption process and will return back to your original data with all the data intact. This will take time depending on the amount of data processed.
Note: If you cannot see the Decrypt Phone option, you may need to reset your phone’s factory data. To reset your phone factory data go to Settings> Backup and Reset and press the Factory data reset at the bottom of the screen. The next process is very easy. Make sure your battery is at least 80% before you start the process.
Method 2: Using Third-Party Applications to Encrypt & Decrypt Files on Android
- Before starting with this process, users need to download the Andrognito 2 application by clicking the download button below.
- Once the installation of the application is complete, the user needs to open it from the app drawer.
- For the first time, users need to register by entering a Name and a 4 digit PIN that will protect their data from intruders.
- Done! Tap the arrow to continue to the next page.
- You must enter a 4 digit PIN again to confirm the action.
- Furthermore, there will be security questions in case you forget your PIN.
- Now you will see the page and you must enter a name for the vault and 4 digit PIN for the vault.
- Press the pink button to continue.
- Now you can import and encrypt files to the vault by pressing the “+” icon.
- You can import multiple files at one time.
- As soon as you have imported the file, press the lock button in the upper right corner to encrypt the file.
- You will see an orange button with a check on it to indicate that the file was successfully imported and encrypted.
- You can now be sure that your data will be safe and cannot be misused.
| Register Andrognito 2 |
| Create Vault Andrognito 2 |
| Andrognito 2 interface |
| Press the lock button in the upper right corner to encrypt the file |
Decrypt Files Using Andrognito 2.
- Open the Andrognito 2 application from your Android Smartphone’s app drawer.
- Now you will need to enter a 4-digit PIN to get access to your vault.
- Now you will see a list of files that you have encrypted before.
- Press on the file name you want to decrypt.
- As you will see, the desired file has been selected, then press the Unlock button in the upper right corner of the application.
| Press the Unlock button in the upper right corner of the application |
| Decryption Process |
Your file has now been decrypted and now you can access it from the location it was saved before it was encrypted. You will be able to access it as a normal file that you used when accessing it before.
So here are two methods that can be used to enable you to Encrypt & Decrypt Files on an Android Phone. You can tell us what method you use for Encryption & Decrypt files on your device in the comments below.
