How to pin and unpin apps in Android Q

The process of pinning and unpinning apps in Android has changed in the beta version of Q. Jack Wallen walks you through the steps.

The Android Q beta 2 is available, and there are a number of changes to be found. Although this release of the platform isn't suited for daily usage, I took the plunge to find out how things are done.

One action that changed a bit in Q is app pinning. Before I show you how this is now done, I should probably explain what app pinning is and why you might want to use it. To put it simply, app pinning allows you to pin a single app to the screen, which cannot be dismissed until it is unpinned. This is a great way to allow someone to look at a screen on your device, but not look anywhere else on your device (so long as they don't know how to unpin an app). That's a pretty good reason to use the feature.

Pin an app

Maybe you want to let someone view a TechRepublic article, but not get into your email or messaging apps. How do you do this? It's actually simple.

1. With a quick upward swipe from the pill button, locate the app you want to pin.
2. Long press the app icon at the top of the app's thumbnail and then tap Pin.
3. The app is now pinned to your screen.

   Unpin an app

   To unpin the app, tap both the pill and back button simultaneously, and the app is unpinned. That's all there is to it.
   App pinning is a very simple way to prevent people who want to view something on your phone from viewing things they shouldn't. Granted, it's not perfect. If you hand someone your device with a pinned app, and they know how to unpin that app, they'll view whatever they want—unless you're looking over their shoulder and can stop them. Fortunately (for some) the unpinning of apps isn't quite obvious, so you might be safe handing over your device with the pinned app. Either way, happy Android Q app pinning.