Android tips: How to use an important security feature you probably don’t know about
If your Android phone’s performance has gotten noticeably worse, it might be because it’s being plagued by a malicious app you’ve unwittingly installed. As GreenBot informs us, there’s actually a very good way to tell whether a third-party app is negatively affecting your phone’s performance by enabling a feature called Safe Mode.
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All longtime PC users are likely familiar with Safe Mode, which has been a staple of PC troubleshooting for years. Safe Mode for Android works much the same way, in that it allows you to boot up your phone with a minimal amount of apps running.
Enabling this feature is incredibly simple: First hold down the power button on your device to bring up the Phone Options screen that you typically use to shut down your device. Next, do a long press on the Power Off option until it gives you the option to restart your device in Safe Mode. Click Restart and then your phone will boot back up with no third-party apps running.
“Safe mode is all-or-nothing when it comes to disabling third-party apps,” GreenBot warns. “You can’t disable, say, just the Dropbox app—but it’s better than nothing.”
To exit Safe Mode, just restart your phone again and it should boot back up as normal.
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