Do we really need a lock screen?

[hotphil]

If you would like an option to disable a lockscreen altogether, you should run the technical preview and suggest it in the feedback app. If it gets enough upvotes Microsoft may implement the feature. They have been implementing many different things at the request of insiders.

It's been in there for quite a few versions already. Just don't set a Device PIN.

 

[hotphil]

Everyone should have a PIN set. This is the very basic level of personalization, security and privacy. If not, sooner or later, you will wish you had. If you disagree, research it.

Researched it. Weighed up the risks. It's not for me. Hasn't been for many years.

 

[SteveNoza]

Researched it. Weighed up the risks. It's not for me. Hasn't been for many years.

Same here (obviously) High value info is still behind passwords. If someone wants to know what's on my grocery list, have at it, I'd rather get into the task at hand and get done and not be slowed down.

 

[BuckeyeCelt]

Many companies require a password on your phone in order to byod...
I could not use my phone for work without it....

 

[Timbre70]

Don't understand what the fuss is about. Not as if you don't have the option.

 

[HeyCori]

I think Glance screen has made the lock screen somewhat redundant. If there's a text message, email or missed call I can get that information by looking at my Glance screen. Seeing the same redundant information on my lock screen doesn't help. That's just one extra screen to swipe away before I can access my info. I wouldn't mind going straight to my home screen instead.

 

[thatdennis]

The 2 main uses I see for a lock screen is:

1. An extra wallpaper.
2. A protection for privy friends who want to see my pictures (my pictures are kept private for a reason).

 

[natan man]

I'm using password and glance screen, so I can give up the lock screen.

 

[Ten Four]

The thing is I know that people have shared with me things like passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and other stuff via text or email over the years and I would rather not have to go through the pain of logging into those things separately somehow every time I wanted to check something. Not even sure if you can set up SMS messaging with a password. In any case, the small extra hurdle might give a thief just enough pause to abandon my phone and move on to another, or it might give me enough time to disable my email, etc. It is why we lock our cars and houses, or at least most of us do. Those locks are only a minor deterrent to a professional thief, but they are often just enough to make them move on to your neighbor who is not as careful. Millions of phones are stolen every year.

 

[MDK22]

I understand the OP's point - he wants to press POWER (or double tap) & go directly to his START screen (not currently an option).

HOWEVER, even if you don't use a password / PIN for lockscreen - you should set it, then turn it OFF.
This is how the iPhones were hijacked some months back. They had NO PIN set, so someone remotely set a PIN. IF you have a PIN set, it requires said PIN to modify the PIN.

You don't want some wisea$$ to lock you out of your phone.

 

[SteveNoza]

I understand the OP's point - he wants to press POWER (or double tap) & go directly to his START screen (not currently an option).

HOWEVER, even if you don't use a password / PIN for lockscreen - you should set it, then turn it OFF.
This is how the iPhones were hijacked some months back. They had NO PIN set, so someone remotely set a PIN. IF you have a PIN set, it requires said PIN to modify the PIN.

You don't want some wisea$$ to lock you out of your phone.

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't heard about the iPhone hijacking. I guess I should be concerned about theft with the Icon, coming from BlackBerry I knew NOBODY would steal that.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Sorry if anybody feels insulted by this, but are you people completely daft and lacking common sense?

What sane person decides, I'm going to put all my contacts and enter the passwords to my email, twitter, facebook, chat app, my bank app and everything else that requires a logon, in this little device I can carry in my pocket. If I lose it, or it is stolen, I don't care if whoever finds it has access to all my stuff. A thief can post whatever he wants to my twitter or facebook, and pretend to be me, sending texts to my friends asking to meet them somewhere and loan me some cash. The possibility of any of that happening doesn't bother me at all.

Really?! I suppose you leave all your personal papers in a neat stack on your front porch for easy access, too? That couple of seconds entering a passcode and dismissing a lock screen could save you untold amounts of grief.

 

[xandros9]

Sorry if anybody feels insulted by this, but are you people completely daft and lacking common sense?

What sane person decides, I'm going to put all my contacts and enter the passwords to my email, twitter, facebook, chat app, my bank app and everything else that requires a logon, in this little device I can carry in my pocket. If I lose it, or it is stolen, I don't care if whoever finds it has access to all my stuff. A thief can post whatever he wants to my twitter or facebook, and pretend to be me, sending texts to my friends asking to meet them somewhere and loan me some cash. The possibility of any of that happening doesn't bother me at all.

Really?! I suppose you leave all your personal papers in a neat stack on your front porch for easy access, too? That couple of seconds entering a passcode and dismissing a lock screen could save you untold amounts of grief.

I thought this discussion was about the lockscreen slide-to-unlock part only, not the password/PIN part.

I remember being booted to the PIN unlock pad immediately when I had a test Android - was an extra step removed, although the lack of glance/LED/etc made me miss it.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Ah, if the issue is simply the screen, and not the lock itself, then I withdraw accusations of daftness.

 

[Guytronic]

I was confused also as to what "lockscreen" referenced.

Agree completely as far as need for the tablet or desk password.

 

[Ten Four]

With live tiles that show notifications, why not go strait to the home screen when you press the unlock/power button?

The OP's first statement seems to mean he wants to be able to just hit the power button and be on the home screen without having to do any swiping or entering passwords. I would agree that it should probably be an option, but I wouldn't recommend it due to security issues. However, I do know some people who are constitutionally incapable of remembering passwords, so they simply couldn't use a smartphone if it had a password lock. Those people would love to avoid swiping away the lock screen. I think ultimately there needs to be a better security system in universal use like maybe biometrics or something. Passwords are no longer working judging from the daily news about massive security breaches.

 

[HXD]

Well, it's a good idea. It automatically goes to the Start screen when you hit the unlock button, but if you have a Pin, then it goes instead to the Keypad. Good idea!