WARSAW, Feb 9, 2026, 07:56 CET
- Android Police flagged “Extend Unlock” as a standout Android productivity feature that cuts down on repeated screen unlocks.
- The setting can keep a phone unlocked near trusted places or Bluetooth devices, reducing friction for work and daily use.
- Google warns the feature can stay active for hours and may widen access if a device is lost, stolen or left near a trusted device.
A little-known Android setting that keeps a phone unlocked in “safe” situations is drawing fresh attention after Android Police published a column spotlighting Extend Unlock as its best productivity feature. (Android Police)
The renewed buzz matters because phone makers keep adding security prompts — PINs, fingerprints, face unlock — while people lean harder on their handsets for payments, work logins and messaging. The extra friction piles up fast.
It also lands at an awkward moment for Android: the platform sells itself on flexibility, but some of its most useful tools sit buried in menus, or behave differently across brands and Android skins.
FilmoGaz, in a separate post published late on Sunday, described Extend Unlock as a way to bypass a PIN in trusted locations or near recognised Bluetooth devices, such as smartwatches, and said some phones surface it under “Lock screen and AOD” — AOD meaning always-on display. The site also noted a setting that can keep a phone unlocked while in motion, which it said carries added security risk. (FilmoGaz)
How-To Geek earlier this month called Extend Unlock a “forgotten” setting that saves users from “constantly unlocking” their phones, describing it as a way to keep a device open at home or when a trusted device is nearby. (Howtogeek)
The Android Police piece came from Rahul Naskar, who framed productivity as a race between Android handsets and the software layers that sit on top of Google’s operating system. “I believe that One UI has the best set of productivity features,” he wrote, referring to Samsung’s Android interface and its Good Lock customisation suite. (Muckrack)
In a separate roundup published earlier this month, Android Police pointed to other time-savers that can feel “oddly powerful,” including sharing a hotspot via QR code, copying and pasting between Android and a Windows PC, auto-filling an OTP — a one-time password — and using notification history and notification snoozing. (Android Police)
But Extend Unlock cuts straight into a tradeoff Android users have been wrestling with for years: convenience versus control.
Google’s own Android Help documentation says Extend Unlock can keep a device unlocked “for up to 4 hours at a time,” and warns that trusted locations are only estimates — potentially keeping a phone unlocked within a radius of up to about 100 meters. It also cautions that Bluetooth connections can be imitated and that someone could access a phone if it’s taken while still near a trusted device. (Google)
That leaves users with a simple choice that is hard to make in practice: fewer unlocks during the day, or a tighter lock screen that can feel like a speed bump every time you glance at your phone.
For many, the setting will stay a niche tweak — useful at home or in a car, risky everywhere else. The latest posts suggest more people are at least looking for it now.
