Cortana coming on Android lock screen in future update

Jan 18, 2017 10:55 GMT  ·  By

​Microsoft is putting a lot of effort into getting Cortana right on all supported devices, and this doesn’t include only Windows 10 but also Android.

And as it turns out, the company continues improving Cortana on Android, and a new feature that will soon be available for the personal assistant (currently part of the beta version) will bring it right on the lock screen.

This means that users will be able to launch Cortana without unlocking their phones, so they’ll be able to perform some tasks, such as setting reminders, all automatically.

At this point, the existing lock screen implementation for Cortana on Android requires users to enable the feature when installing the beta version, with a Cortana icon similar to the camera then automatically created. Swiping the Cortana icon left or right triggers the personal assistant, letting users interact with it without the need for getting past the lock screen.

Still in beta

But as MSPU notes, there’s one important issue that needs to be addressed. Cortana on the lock screen could provide users with access to their data without the need for unlocking the phone and providing the passcode or scanning the fingerprint, which at first glance could become a major security flaw.

Microsoft can obviously address this before this feature makes it to the production build and restrict access to some files or at least require authentication when Cortana wants to look into specific folders.

For the moment, it’s not yet clear when Cortana could arrive on the Android lock screen for all users, but it’s very clear that Microsoft is very keen on conquering non-Windows platforms with its services. This is part of the company’s plans to become more relevant in the mobile space, not necessarily with its own devices running Windows 10, but with services aimed at users of other platforms.

Cortana is also available on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile devices, but also on iPhones, with Microsoft improving it on a regular basis with new updates on all supported platforms.