Android phone and email etc

[whiteoaks7]

I've just discovered that these otherwise wonderful android phones don;t let you logoff from (for example) your email account. So anyone picking up my phone can not only read all my emails but also send some. This might not worry you but it worries me - I like to think of my correspondence as private. And, no, I don;t want to have to rely on tapping PINs into my phone every time I want to use it. And if you think for a moment you'll probably realise that you always log off from email when you use a computer - n'est pas? It apparently also applies to Facebook and other such sites. You also need to be aware that the phone does lots of background data transfers (thinking again of email it constantly updates my inbox). Luckily this can be turned off, for while I don;t mind this in the UK where such continuous transfers are free; in Greece I will be charged. A friend of our daughter's went on hols for a fortnight to the Caribbean and ended up with a bill of thousands just because of the background data transfers. Good ol' Google android then...

[duncan99210]

All you need to do about being overseas is to turn off 'data roaming' and it'll stop any of the activities going on. Isn't your phone password protected? Mine is - I have to draw a pattern on the touch screen to open it.

[maxi77]

On the Iphone you can turn of data so that it only works like a phone unless you get wifi.

[Ninpo]

What type of Android Handset is it?
With some (HTC for example) if you lose the handset you can sign into HTCSense.com and delete all the data from the handset remotely.

It's a pain I must admit, my only issue with Android handsets, obviously it's Google's way of keeping tracks on you etc...

[fergie_mac66]

All you need to do about being overseas is to turn off 'data roaming' and it'll stop any of the activities going on. Isn't your phone password protected? Mine is - I have to draw a pattern on the touch screen to open it.

you have to turn background off as well as data roaming. I believe background bypasses dataroaming lock

dont use gmail for anything other than junk.

[elton]

I've always locked my pc when I leave it, switched on. Phone locked likewise.

It's not just email that's private.

[BurnitBlue]

There is so much anger in the cyber world about this that Google have made an instructional video explaining why you cannot log off an app. Acoording to them, an unused app is not taking power, so it is left in memory, as it saves power by not having to re-load it every time it is used. Also, android can reload it whether you want it or not if it finds unused space in memory.

You can google for the video ;-)

[grumpy_o_g]

I tend not to log off email at all really, either at work at home or on the phone or tablet. My phone locks after thirty seconds but I just use a pattern to unlock. Not as secure as a PIN or password but it deters the casual picker-up. To protect the data I use an App called Lookout. There others on the market but this has a good reputation. It allows me to locate the phone, sound a VERY loud alarm remotely, lock the phone remotely and even wipe all the data remotely. The very latest version of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich - v4.0.3) has a facility called App Locker built in which allows you to password protect specific apps.

There's also a range of Apps on the Market that do exactly the same thing - they allow you to password protect individual apps. Confusingly one is called
App Locker, though it's not the Google product.

If you put an app like Lookout and one like App Locker on your phone you should be well sorted.