How to Manage Your Android Lock Screen

Your Android phone's lock screen can be very useful, showing notifications and allowing you to access certain features without having to unlock your phone first. (Something that can be even more useful if you have a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro and are still having issues with the fingerprint sensor.)

ContentsEnable lock screen notificationsChoose which apps appear on your lock screenGet personal information on your lock screenUse Google Assistant on the lock screen

Here are some ways to change your settings lock Screen. These were tested with a Pixel 6 running Android 12; As always, different Android phones may have somewhat different procedures.

Enable lock-screen notifications

First, you can choose to show both alerts and silent notifications, show alerts only, or show no notifications.

Go to your phone's settings (usually by swiping up and down and tapping the gear symbol) and select Notice
Scroll down and tap Lock screen notifications
Here you can choose from three different selections:show conversations (default and silent); hide conversations and silent notifications (silent notifications are those that appear without sound or vibration, such as weather or a title); or show no notification.

(Again, your exact mileage on what is shown may vary, depending on your phone manufacturer and the version of Android you are using.)

You can also choose whether or not to show sensitive information on your lock screen by turning "Sensitive Notifications" on or off. If disabled, you'll only see the app the notification originated from rather than the notification itself. For example, you'll see "1 new message" rather than any information about the message.

Choose the apps that appear on your lock-screen

The apps that appear on your lock screen are the same apps that are allowed to send you notifications. You can choose which ones.

Go to your phone settings
Select Reviews> App Settings
You will see a list of your apps; you can sort them alphabetically, in the order of the most recent or the most frequent; you can also list apps that have been disabled. Use the toggle to the right of each app name to turn its notifications on or off completely. If you tap on the app name, you can manage more specific types of notifications for that app.

Get personal-information on your lock screen

While you can choose to only receive general notifications on your lock screen, such as headlines or weather, you can also receive more personal notifications for emails, reminders , flight reservations and other items.

When your phone is on, tell your Google Assistant to open Assistant settings. You can also find them by going to Settings> apps> Wizard> See all wizard settings> Personal results.
In Your Phone tab, make sure Personal Results (which allows Assistant to access your email, calendar, etc.) is enabled. You can then enable Personal suggestions on the lock screen before asking .

Use Google Assistant on the lock screen

Google Assistant can answer questions and follow instructions from the lock screen if configured to do so. It can also be a bit annoying if you accidentally trigger it to start talking unexpectedly. Here's how to enable Google Assistant to work from the lock screen or disable it.

Go back to Settings> apps> Wizard> See all wizard settings but this time select Lock screen
Enable assistant responses on the lock screen. Now when you say "Hey Google", your phone will answer. If you want to activate Google Assistant from the lock screen without saying anything (for example, by simply tapping the screen), switch to the second section of this page.

According to Google, some verbal responses won't be given from the lock screen, even if you allow it to show personalized results. These include payments, Google Photos, requests to open other apps, or questions about your name or address.

Updated March 10, 2022, 3:38 PM ET: This article was originally published on November 26, 2019 and has been updated to allow for changes in the Android operating system.