Just ungraded my FP3 to Android 11, after carefully switching the default (Google) Camera app’s storage back to Phone (internal) from (external-)SD. So far, everything seems to be working fine!
One thing that surprises me is that now there is a camera icon in the lower-right corner of the lockscreen (the one you swipe up to enter your PIN), which allows taking photographs (at least) when the phone is otherwise locked. (Some very quick tests suggest that is all you can do.)
I’m uncertain about having my carefully locked/secured phone be able to do anything from the lockscreen except make emergency calls, or be rebooted or unlocked. (I appreciate others may like taking photos(/movies), and that it can be useful in emergencies, such as filming bad cop behaviour.) How do I disable that “feature”?
I could not find anything in the Camera app’s settings.
I agree, especially as there’s a shortcut (press power twice in quick succession) that also works from the lock screen. To enable / disable: Settings > System > Gestures > Quickly open camera
I don’t know whether the icon can be removed from the lock screen, but if you cancel the Camera (stock app)'s default settings, Android has to ask you which app to use, which requires the phone to be unlocked (that’s presumably Amoun’s case). When you next choose the app to use, specify “just once”.
[Edit: You must have at least two camera apps installed in order to force Android to ask you which one to use. A common option is Open Camera, which in my opinion is a good app anyway.]
That way, Android has to ask each time. But of course this will happen every time you take a photo, from whatever app, not just the lock screen.
I also notice that there’s currently a bug (on my phone anyway) which prevents Open Camera from launching properly if set as default app and invoked from the lock screen. You just get a white screen and nothing happens … but that’s not a solution of course, just a thing that doesn’t work, and it might get fixed!
Good news, but apart from that, there ought to be a setting that gives you the option to show the icon on the lock screen. Looks like the setting got forgotten.
It should be in Settings > Security > Screen lock > Lock screen shortcuts
Ok, that addressed my concern, “I’m uncertain about having my carefully locked/secured phone be able to do anything from the lockscreen except make emergency calls […]”, albeit the icon is still present, just non-functional. The double-press of the power switch (which I had forgotten about, but obviously has the same concern) is also disabled, which seems sensible.
I have therefore marked this as the solution, despite not actually removing the now-even-more-useless icon. Thanks!
It may be that on FP3 #1 I have three camera apps where it is always ineffective . .
Yes! Once I have installed Open Camera, the icon now requires me to log in on the lock screen
@blf So this seems to be an option to disable the icon compared to
the ‘solution’
To enable / disable: Settings > System > Gestures > Quickly open camera
as in my case it only stops the camera form being used via the hardware buttons
Hi Amoun,
Just to prevent any misunderstanding, I never said that the Gestures toggle was a solution.
The solution I gave, above, is to install at least two Camera apps so that Android is forced to ask which one to use and thus get you to unlock the phone. I’m pretty sure that’s what blf took as a solution.
Hope this makes it clear for everyone.
[Edit: I just realised that in my post above, I didn’t specify that you must have at least two Camera apps installed, so that Android has to ask you which one to use. I will amend my previous post.]
Just to note, when I installed Open camera there was no query on which to use. The default camera icon is on the home screen and just works as usual, or I can use Open camera via it’s icon.
Maybe the request as to which to use is via some app ?
If no default camera app has been specified, Android will ask which camera app to use, whenever the need arises to launch a camera app.
Such a need arises if you use the quick access icon on the lock screen. If, when you use this icon, Android launches the stock Camera app, then you need to reset the default app for the camera function so that there’s no longer any default app.
Settings > Apps and notifications > App info > Camera1 > Advanced > Open by default
and tap CLEAR DEFAULTS
1 I.E. the stock Camera app, if that’s the current default app.
The same “default app” rules apply for other generic functions such as contacts.
If you care this much about a secure phone, Fairphone is a terrible choice, sorry not sorry. There are many security issues when it comes to this phone, some including the trusting of android’s testing keys for secured boot, meaning that any firmware will be accepted on boot when signed with the right keys. This could be used to install a backdoor into your device without you noticing.
The camera icon however does not give you much security risk btw, as android works with file-based encryption, meaning that even if you would be able to bypass something and get into the phone their would not be any unlocked data present.
Correct.My previous claim the setting affected the icon on Android-11 on my FP3 was completely wrong. (Sorry, I have no idea how to remove the solution marking .)
What happened was this: When I tested the icon after changing the setting, I simply was not swiping long (far) enough. I tried ten times (I counted!) and the icon, whilst present, was “not” working — hence my claim the setting was the solution.
However, the helpful and friendly pushback from this Forum made me retest, and discover my mistake. I can now reliably use the icon from the lockscreen, regardless of the setting — which I am not too keen on, but do acknowledge others may not find objectionable.
Speculating, I suspect I was a self-victim of my expectations: I so wanted the setting to control the icon, I wasn’t sufficiently through with my tests. (There is a technical name for this, which I don’t currently recall, but it is one of the reasons the “gold standard” for medical trials is the double-blinded test.)
.)