If you use personal files on the Google Drive app, you can now better protect them with a privacy screen. For example, the app often asks for Face ID or Touch ID.
Privacy screen in Google Drive
In the latest update of the Google Drive app, you can choose to make your files in Google Drive more secure. Google adds a ‘privacy screen’ for this.
Privacy screen becomes active as soon as you switch from Google Drive to another app. As soon as you want to get back to your files, enable Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. This prevents someone who gets their hands on your unlocked phone from being able to immediately snoop through all your stored files.
Delay in security, for multitasking
You can choose to have the new feature work with a delay. You can choose between 10 seconds, a minute or 10 minutes. This way you are not constantly confronted with your own security when you are multitasking on the iPhone.
Also read: iWork, Microsoft Office or Google Docs on your Apple devices?
This security is not completely watertight, as Google Drive itself also indicates when you switch it on for the first time. For example, it cannot keep unauthorized persons out if certain files from Google Drive are also shared with other apps on your phone, such as the photo app. Some Siri commands and notifications can still access your files. It is not said which ones they are.
‘Especially for working from home’
The privacy screen was already announced by Google a few weeks ago. Google then let the news site DigitalTrends know that the new settings were especially useful for the current situation, where more people are working from home and may be more likely to share their smartphones with family or loved ones. The custom app with the new feature is from now on available on the App Store. Privacy screen works on both iOS and iPadOS.
Also view our step-by-step plan: better privacy on the iPhone
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