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Android Kiosk Mode

Kiosk Lockdown for your Android Tablets, Smartphones, and Rugged Devices

Industry-first Android kiosk solution, securing millions of devices worldwide.
Set up kiosk mode on Android devices and convert them into dedicated-purpose devices within minutes.

Android Kiosk Mode

What is Android Kiosk Mode?

Transform your Android tablet or smartphone into a secure, single-purpose device with Android Kiosk Mode! Android Kiosk Mode allows IT admins to lock down devices into single or multi-app mode on Android devices, allowing them to control exactly what users see and do on the Android device. Android Kiosk Mode is perfect for creating user-friendly kiosks digital signage, and interactive displays using off-the-shelf Android tablets or Android smartphones. Android kiosk mode improves user focus and productivity by restricting the usage of an Android device to a single or limited set of applications. From restricting access to specific apps to customizing the interface for your brand, Kiosk Mode offers a range of benefits for businesses and organizations.

How can you set up kiosk mode for Android devices?

Android kiosk mode can be enabled in three ways:

  • Using Android’s default screen pinning feature
  • Leveraging a standalone kiosk mode solution, like SureLock
  • Using a robust mobile device management solution like SureMDM

Once kiosk lockdown has been configured, the Android device operates in an immersive kiosk-type environment, thus avoiding any kind of device misuse.

SureLock is a comprehensive Android kiosk mode solution available for download from Google Play. A free version of SureLock is available with some limitations.

42Gears SureLock offers more powerful Android kiosk mode functionality than the available alternative solutions including the Screen Pinning feature of Android. Screen Pinning is useful for limited personal use, for instance, when you want someone (friend or child) to use your phone or tablet for using a specific app or game. Screen Pinning is not suitable for setting up kiosk mode on Android devices that are used for business purposes.

Why businesses need a stand-alone Android Kiosk Mode solution?

What are the benefits of Android Kiosk Mode?

Improve Worker Productivity

Android tablets and smartphones are versatile devices, on which a variety of interesting and fun apps can be installed and used. If a worker starts playing games or watches videos during work hours, worker productivity is certainly going to take a hit. By setting up Android Kiosk Mode, you can be assured that the workers remain focused and can only use the business apps approved by the IT team.

Reduce Device Maintenance

Android kiosk mode helps ensure that the Android devices operate smoothly for much longer as downtimes due to misconfiguration by users are completely eliminated. The IT team does not have to spend extra time troubleshooting the issues.

Reduce Operational Costs

If your Android devices support mobile data, you would want to ensure that the workers or users don’t consume the bandwidth and cause excessive mobile data usage. By configuring the kiosk lockdown on your Android devices, you can restrict users from accessing “fun” apps, thereby reducing high operational costs.

Data Security

Kiosk Lockdown of Android devices helps in reducing the probability of data loss and data theft as it blocks the users from accessing the files and then sharing them with others. If the Android kiosk mode is properly configured the user would not be able to access on-device content by connecting the device with the PC over USB.

Supports Multi-App Kiosk Mode

With Screen Pinning, one can lock devices into Android Single App Kiosk Mode, whereas with an Android Kiosk Mode app/software, devices can be locked into a single app or a set of multiple apps.

Automatic Distribution of Apps

While provisioning devices into Android Kiosk Mode, admins can automatically install apps on all the devices if they are not already present on the devices.

What are the key features of Android Kiosk Mode?

Multi-App Lockdown

You can use Android Kiosk Mode to limit the users' access to a set of approved apps. For instance, you can allow users to access a business app such as an Inventory tracking app, a calculator app, and a brightness control app. Once Android kiosk mode is enabled, the user will see icons for only these three apps on the home screen.

Android Single App Mode

A very common requirement is "how to run only one app on Android?". The answer is to use Android Single Application Mode using which only one app is configured to remain active on the Android device screen at all times. This one app is automatically launched at startup after the device boots up. Users cannot exit the app or switch to any other app. Any attempt to kill or terminate the allowed app is blocked. If for some reason the app crashes, kiosk software (Android Kiosk Mode solution) will automatically launch it again. Watch how to setup Single App Mode on your company-owned Android devices

Custom Home Screen Branding

Android Kiosk Mode provides an opportunity to improve your corporate branding. You can set up a custom wallpaper and title on the home screen to establish and promote your company brand on the device. You can also replace the App icons on the home screen with your own custom icons, when the kiosk mode is active.

Peripheral Control

Multiple peripheral control options are available for devices locked down with the kiosk mode in android. You can implement Android Kiosk Mode to control the built-in peripherals such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, camera, screen orientation, Airplane mode, audio, GPS, etc. In Android kiosk mode, it is possible to set the state of these peripherals so that the user cannot change it. For e.g. You can configure WiFi as always ON, which means users will not be able to turn off WiFi by any means. Similarly, the camera can be kept Always Off, which means users won’t be able to use any app to click photos using the camera.  

App Access Control with Android Kiosk Mode

You can set up an app-specific password to ensure only authorized users can access the app allowed in the kiosk environment. For e.g. you want to allow two apps, where one app is available to all users, and the second one is available only to a manager. In this case, you can specify a password for the second app. When any user tries to launch the second app from the kiosk home screen, the password prompt will show up. Android kiosk mode secures apps from unwanted access by certain users.

Driver Safety Mode

To reduce the risk of accidents, Android kiosk mode can prevent your drivers from interacting with the android device when the vehicle is in motion. This is called Drive Safety Mode. In kiosk mode, you can set up a speed threshold. If the vehicle speed exceeds this threshold, kiosk mode will apply a stricter lockdown policy which will ensure the driver cannot use the device at all. Access to the approved apps is not allowed when Android kiosk mode is active. However, it is possible to keep an allowed app in the foreground to provide visual information to the driver. For e.g. Google Maps or other apps can be in the foreground, but they won't be able to interact with those apps. Once the vehicle speed drops below the threshold limit and stays there for a cooling-off period, the device comes back to normal lockdown mode, and the driver can interact with the approved apps again. 

Analyze App Usage

You can track how often and for how long the users are using the approved apps when the Android kiosk mode is active. You can use this information to estimate and analyze user or worker productivity.

Kiosk Mode on Android Devices vs Full MDM

Android Kiosk Mode refers to locking down Android devices and converting them into a single-purpose device. However, if you want to provision kiosk mode and remotely manage your Android devices, you should look at using a robust, full-featured Android mobile device management solution like SureMDM, which provides a centralized platform to provision and manage your Android devices easily. 

Use-cases for Android Kiosk Mode

For Employees: 

Mobile Inventory Tracking

Mobile inventory and warehouse management software running on Android smartphones, tablets, or Rugged Handheld devices enables customers to easily and efficiently track their inventory and avoid stockouts (out-of-stock events). This system can be especially useful for customers who have multiple remote warehouses.

Mobile Field Service Management

Mobile field service management software running on Android devices (smartphones, tablets, rugged devices) streamlines the field operations such as job scheduling, task tracking, work order management, customer proof of service, asset tracking, and parts management. By using Android kiosk mode to securely lock down  the devices, companies can improve worker productivity and improve customer service experience.

Transportation and Logistics

The use of ruggedized, commercial-grade, or off-the-shelf mobile devices in transportation and logistics helps in the efficient management of the supply chain. Additionally, trucking companies use Android tablets, and smartphones (configured with Android Kiosk Mode) to run an ELD application to ensure compliance with the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate.

For Customers: 

Public Information Kiosks

Companies use Android tablets as information kiosks to connect with their customers or the public. Configured with a secure Android kiosk mode, these Information kiosks are very useful in marketing, advertising, and public relations. All these activities can help the companies grow business by delivering the right targeted information to their customers.

Education

Android tablets and smartphones are good choices for schools as tools for delivering education to students remotely. Many schools use Android Kiosk Mode to lock down tablets and smartphones with just a couple of apps, like Zoom and Google Classroom. Kiosk lockdown of Android devices ensures that the students focus on learning during the classes and avoid getting distracted (with social media or games).

Healthcare

Android tablets are used by hospitals and healthcare facilities for a variety of purposes such as patient check-in, patient survey devices, and as information devices for doctors. In some cases, tablets are provided to patients for use at home. Healthcare is a highly regulated industry and keeping these Android devices under strict kiosk lockdown mode with Android Kiosk Mode helps in achieving HIPAA compliance, whose goal is to ensure Protected Health Information (PHI) is not compromised.

Events and Trade Shows

Android tablets can easily be set up to deploy registration and check-in solutions for events and trade shows. Many cloud-based event management apps can be configured to run with Android kiosk mode to avoid any chances of the attendees getting lost or confused if the app focus is lost due to a user action or if the device restarts.

POS (Point of Sale) Terminals in Android Kiosk Mode

Retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses are adopting Android-based Point of Sale (POS) devices, for their affordability, and due to the availability of POS apps in the market. A consumer off-the-shelf Android tablet can be easily set up in kiosk mode where only the POS app is allowed in Single App Mode. Both store cashiers and self-service customers will have pleasant checkout experiences due to their familiarity with the Android system.

Digital Signage

A combination of a digital signage tool and Android kiosk mode can build a powerful solution to capture the attention of your customers to your messaging and brand.

Hospitality Check-In

Guest check-in experience is always an important focus for hotel management teams. Large-screen portable devices such as Android tablets (in kiosk mode) are now becoming very common in hotel lobbies, helping guests check in quickly without having to go through the manual process which at times can be very unpredictable.

Need to lock down Android Tablets with Android Kiosk Mode?

The Solution is SureLock for Android.

Android Kiosk Mode FAQs

Does Android have a built-in kiosk mode?

Yes. Built-in Kiosk Mode in Android is also known as Android Screen Pinning. Android Screen Pinning is a security feature in Android devices that allows you to limit the access to only one app. This means that after the app is pinned, the user will only be able to use the pinned app and won't be able to interact with any of the other apps until the pinning is removed. Screen Pinning is more restrictive and less customizable than kiosk mode software such as SureLock. SureLock can also be managed from SureMDM making it easy to deploy kiosk policy to large number of devices. In short, if you ask - Does Android have kiosk mode? The answer is Android Screen Pinning, however, it has very limited capabilities and is not suitable for use in most business scenarios.

How to exit kiosk mode from a device running SureLock?

Tap 5 times on the Home screen or on the loading screen in case of Single Application Mode. Once the password prompt appears, enter the password to get into SureLock Admin settings, and click on the Exit SureLock option. The default SureLock password is 0000.

How secure is Android Kiosk Mode?

Your Android Kiosk Mode's security depends on how you enabled this feature. There are two ways to enable Kiosk Mode for your Android devices - using Android's built-in 'Screen Pinning' feature for basic lockdown capabilities or using a standalone Kiosk Management solution for advanced kiosk management capabilities, like SureLock. While Android's 'Screen Pinning' feature offers a basic lockdown for individual or casual usage, it is not suitable for highly sensitive data due to its limitations. Dedicated kiosk software solutions restrict the device to run only the permitted app (or apps), and offer more robust security features like disabling access to device settings, hardware buttons, and other apps.

Can I remotely manage Android devices in Kiosk Mode?

Yes, if you are using a dedicated kiosk software, like SureLock, you can remotely manage the kiosk settings of your Android devices in Kiosk Mode. It's important to note that while Android's built-in "Screen Pinning" feature does offer basic Kiosk Mode lockdown functionalities, it doesn't come with remote kiosk management capabilities.

What are the typical use cases for Android Kiosk Mode?

Android Kiosk Mode is commonly used by businesses on public-facing Android devices. Typical use cases involve self-service kiosks, digital signage displays, point-of-sale systems, and educational institutions for controlled app usage. You can learn more here.

What are the benefits of using dedicated Android kiosk software solutions?

Dedicated Android kiosk software, like SureLock, offers advantages like enhanced security, remote management, multi-app mode, shared device mode, and customization options, providing a more comprehensive and secure kiosk experience compared to the basic 'Screen Pinning' feature.

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