With growing awareness of smartphone security, many more cell users are desiring encryption within their smart phones. While iPhones may offer default encryption, many Android products require an activation. Android encryption will allow you to lock your phone down as well as protect your stored data from hackers, and even government spying. Included here are a few tips for protecting your data on your phone and within the cloud. Lock Your Phone The first step towards cell phone security is in creating a password to lock your phone. This is important on all phones as it limits the access other people will have to your data. Having the ability to lock your phone is especially important in the encryption process. If your phone is not locked, anyone who has access to your phone will be able to read your information, even the encrypted data! Encrypt Incoming and OutgoingWith the amount of information coming and going on the internet, it is critical your sensitive information remains private. Without carefully encrypting your phone, you can easily have data stolen or viewed by an unfriendly party, even if the website you visit says it is encrypted. For example, even when using an HTTPS site, or other site that utilizes encryption, as the data is passed through servers it is both encrypted and unencrypted. This means any bug that has penetrated a server along the process may have access to your data. By only depending on other webpages and businesses to protect your information, you are putting yourself at an unnecessary risk. The key to genuine security is in the encryption of everything that comes and goes from your phone, from within the Android system. This method of encryption is guaranteed to protect your info and keep you much safer during online transactions. One of the best ways to ease your mind can be to utilize a service that encrypts your email for both cell phone and laptop use. Many people communicate via email and say things they wouldn’t post publicly on the internet. However, many of the email servers do little to nothing to protect your information, so your sensitive data is effectively public to many hackers. This can be dangerous for a variety of reasons. For example, reminding your spouse of the pin number to the bank account could easily be stolen by a hacker. Informing a friend of a house sitting schedule for while you are on vacation could expose you to physical burglary threats or robbery. Any personal identifiers used in an email could be stolen and used against you if you are not encrypting. Remember that everything you type on the internet is leaving a trail, you must consider whether it is readable to everyone else.