How to Enable Guest Mode & Add Users on an Android phone

Your smartphone is smarter than you think and it contains almost all of your personal details, from bank accounts to private chats. Every time you handover your phone to another person for some reason it does not feel comfortable. Even if that person is family or a close friend you will prefer privacy with respect to your gadget. Android phones have the Multiple Users feature and also a Guest mode to avoid any discomfort when a phone is shared among people. This article will shed light on Guest mode and how Multiple Users can be added to an Android.

The Guest mode can be used by people who tend to handover their phones regularly to others for a short period of time. When on Guest Mode the user cannot peek into any personal information of yours.

However, Android users can add another user to their phone, and this user will have access to all the features available in the phone but not the user data stored by the other user. Basically, this means, when another user is added to your device the phone will act as if it is reset.

First, let’s know how Guest mode can be enabled on an Android phone. Though this feature is available for sometime now, it is good for you to update your phone to the latest version of the operating system.

How to turn on Guest Mode

• Swipe down on your phone to open the Quick Settings.
• Tap on the circled person icon found at the bottom-right corner.
• Select Guest.

Now, the guest mode is enabled and you can give your phone to anyone without any worries. All your personal stuff is safe and cannot be seen. When the user tries to switch back to the regular user account of the phone, they will need a pin, password, fingerprint, or Face ID.

Having seen about Guest mode, below you will find how a new user can be added on your Android phone.

How to Add user on an Android

• Open Quick Settings by swiping down twice on your screen.
• Tap the circled person icon found at the bottom.
• Select Add user and tap on Ok to confirm.
• Select Continue to Set up a new user.
• Enter the Google account email and password of the new account and tap on Next.
• Confirm the two-step verification.
• Tap on the I agree option.
• One the next page, scroll down and hit Accept.
• You will be asked to enter your pin twice, do it.
• Set up biometric authentication if you want, else just skip it.
• Select I agree and then Next.

After you add a new user your phone will behave like it did when it was brand new. Everything will go back to the default settings and the new user has to set up all the features and download apps from the beginning.

Switching back to the primary user account is quite simple, and all the apps and data are just hidden and not lost. This multiple user feature is similar to Windows user accounts which you must be familiar with if you use a PC.

Visit Google Support to know more details about adding, switching, and deleting user accounts on an Android device.