OxygenOS App Locker Can Be Bypassed Easily, OnePlus Says Working on Solution

If you are currently using a recent OnePlus smartphone that runs OxygenOS, you would be aware that the operating system comes with a built-in App Locker app. Now, it has been discovered that the built-in app locker on OxygenOS is not secure as it can easily be bypassed by anyone without much difficulty and by using a launcher app that is easily accessible through Google Play store.

The App Locker on OxygenOS works similar to any third-party app locker and essentially prevents other users from opening specific applications by presenting a passcode request. To open the App Locker app within settings (Settings > Security & fingerprint > App Locker), you will also need to enter your passcode. However, as per a report by XDA Developers, this feature can easily be bypassed by anyone using a third-party launcher like Nova Launcher, or any other app that can launch activities.

In order to bypass the native App Locker on OxygenOS, users simply need to add an activity shortcut to "App Locker" that can be found under Dashboard, as per the report. On tapping the shortcut, users will be able to get access to the App Locker settings without any need of a password. From there, you can easily switch the App Locker off and make it ineffective altogether.

Interestingly, on being notified about the problem by XDA Developers, OnePlus responded by saying, "We are aware of this issue, and we will be fixing it in an upcoming OTA." We might have to wait till the issue gets fixed but this is a good indicator that the security features can often have loopholes and users need to be extra cautious while using these features to secure content that can cost them in a significant way.