Android app pinning locks your phone to a single app so that whoever is holding it cannot leave that app, open notifications, or reach your home screen without your PIN, pattern or password. It has shipped in Android since version 5.0 under the names screen pinning, app pinning and, on Samsung phones, Pin app or Pin windows, and almost nobody turns it on because it sits two or three menus deep. Once you know it exists, you will use it every time you hand your phone to a child, a cashier, a stranger who needs to make a call, or anyone filling out a form on your device.
The feature is part of Android itself, so it behaves the same on a Pixel, a Galaxy, a OnePlus or a Motorola; only the menu path and wording differ. This guide covers stock Android and Samsung One UI, pinning and unpinning with both navigation styles, the PIN requirement, and the limits to know before you rely on it. If you already customize your phone the day you get it, this belongs on the same list as the Samsung settings worth changing first.
What app pinning actually does
When an app is pinned, Android confines the foreground to that app. The Home and Recents gestures or buttons stop working, the notification shade cannot be pulled down, the status bar is hidden or locked, and the power menu is restricted. Incoming calls still ring and can be answered, and the pinned app itself works normally, including any screens inside it. The only way out is the unpin gesture followed by your screen lock, assuming you left the lock requirement on, which you should.
Pinning is not a full kiosk mode. It controls which app is on screen, nothing more: pin Chrome and the user can browse anywhere, pin Photos and they can scroll every photo, and a restart still ends it.
How to enable app pinning on stock Android
On a Pixel or any phone running close to stock Android 13, 14, 15 or 16, the toggle lives under security settings. The menu names have shifted slightly between versions, so if you do not see the exact path below, use the search bar at the top of Settings and type “pinning”.
Android 13 to 16 (Pixel and near stock phones):
Settings > Security & privacy > More security & privacy > App pinning > toggle On
Keep "Ask for PIN before unpinning" (or "Lock device when unpinning") turned On
Android 9 to 12:
Settings > Security > Advanced > Screen pinning (or App pinning) > toggle On
Any version: open Settings, tap the search field, type "pinning"Google’s own instructions in the Android Help article on pinning and unpinning screens match these paths and note that after you enable the feature you will be asked for your PIN, pattern or password before any screen can be unpinned. Leave that sub option on. Without it, anyone can unpin with the gesture and the feature is little more than a suggestion.
How to enable Pin app on Samsung One UI
Samsung buries the same feature a level deeper and has renamed it more than once. On current One UI builds it is called Pin app; on older ones it was Pin windows. Samsung’s own support page on pinning an app gives the path through Other security settings, and newer One UI versions label that submenu More security settings.
One UI 6 and 7 (Galaxy S23, S24, S25, Z Fold and Flip 5 and 6, recent A series):
Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Pin app > toggle On
Turn on "Ask for PIN before unpinning"
One UI 4 and 5:
Settings > Security and privacy > Other security settings > Pin app (or Pin windows) > On
Shortcut on any One UI version: Settings > search "Pin app"Samsung’s Recents screen looks a little different from stock Android, but the pinning step is the same: open the app, open Recents, tap the app icon above the preview card and choose Pin this app. On Galaxy phones with the taskbar enabled (Fold and Flip in landscape, tablets), Recents still shows the app icon in the same place.
How to pin and unpin an app
With the feature enabled, pinning is a three tap process and unpinning is one gesture plus your screen lock. The exact gesture depends on which navigation style you use, which you can check or change under Settings, System, Navigation mode (Samsung: Settings, Display, Navigation bar).
| Action | Gesture navigation | Three button navigation | Samsung One UI note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Recents | Swipe up from the bottom and hold | Tap the Recents (square or three line) button | Recents button is on the left by default |
| Pin the app | Tap the app icon at the top of its card, tap Pin | Same | Menu item reads Pin this app |
| Unpin | Swipe up from the bottom and hold | Press and hold Back and Recents together | Press and hold Recents and Back together |
| After unpinning | Enter PIN, pattern or password | Same | Same; biometrics are also accepted on most builds |
The first time you pin an app, Android shows a short explanation of the unpin gesture, and the person you hand the phone to sees the same hint if they try to leave. With the lock requirement on, their attempt simply lands them at your lock screen.
Real uses for app pinning
The feature earns its keep in ordinary situations that come up every week. A few of the most common:
- Handing your phone to a kid. Pin YouTube Kids, a game or a video app and they cannot wander into your email, your banking app or the Play Store. Pair it with the app’s own parental settings for content control.
- Showing a payment or ticket. Pin your wallet app, a boarding pass, a parking app or a loyalty card, then hand the phone to a cashier or gate agent without worrying about what else they might tap. Note that Google Wallet tap to pay works normally while pinned.
- Letting someone fill out a form. A customer signing a delivery, a friend entering their contact details, a patient completing intake in a clinic app: pin the form app and the phone can only be used for that.
- Lending your phone for a call. Pin the Phone app so a stranger can dial a number but cannot open anything else.
- Cheap kiosk or display. A spare phone pinned to a slideshow, a menu, a timer or a recipe app makes a serviceable single purpose device for a kitchen, a shop counter or a workshop.
Limits you should know about
App pinning is a convenience feature, not a security boundary. The person holding the phone can still force a restart with the hardware buttons, which ends pinning. They can answer or reject calls. Links that open in an external browser are blocked, but an in app browser inside the pinned app is fully accessible, and so is every screen inside that app, including settings, account pages and payment methods.
Pinning also does not survive a screen timeout in the way people expect. If the screen turns off and you have the lock requirement on, unlocking brings you back to the pinned app, which is good. If you turned the lock requirement off, the phone unlocks straight to the pinned app and anyone can unpin it with the gesture. For a real locked down device, use a dedicated kiosk app, a work profile with device management, or Android’s Guest user, which gives someone a separate, empty user space. For younger children, Google Family Link on their own device is a far better tool than pinning on yours.
Troubleshooting
The Pin option does not appear in Recents
The feature is switched off. Go back to Settings, Security and privacy, More security settings (or More security and privacy) and confirm App pinning or Pin app is on. On Samsung phones, the toggle can also be reset by a One UI update, so check it again after a major upgrade.
The unpin gesture does nothing
With gesture navigation you must swipe up and hold, not flick. Hold for about a second until the phone vibrates or the lock screen appears. With three button navigation press Back and Recents at the same time and hold; tapping them in sequence will not work.
I forgot the PIN and the phone is stuck in a pinned app
Hold the power button (or power and volume down on phones with a side key assigned to the assistant) until the phone restarts. It will boot to the lock screen. If you cannot unlock at all, you are in a normal forgotten lock situation and will need your Google account recovery or a factory reset, not a pinning fix.
Pinning turns off by itself
An app crash, a forced restart or the app being updated in the background can all end pinning. If the pinned app is unresponsive rather than crashed, the fix is usually the same one as for any frozen app, which we cover in how to fix an unresponsive touchscreen. Clearing the app’s cache, as described in our Android cache guide, resolves most repeat crashes.
Frequently asked questions
Is app pinning the same as screen pinning?
Yes. Google called it screen pinning from Android 5 through 8, renamed it app pinning around Android 9, and Samsung calls it Pin app or, on older One UI, Pin windows. The feature is identical: it confines the phone to one app until the unpin gesture and screen lock are completed.
Can the person unpin the app without my PIN?
Not if you left the “Ask for PIN before unpinning” option on, which is the default when you enable the feature. The unpin gesture then leads straight to your lock screen. If you turned that option off, anyone who knows the gesture can unpin, so keep it enabled.
Does app pinning work on tablets?
Yes. Android tablets, including Samsung Galaxy Tabs, have the same setting under Security and privacy, and the pinning and unpinning gestures are the same.
Can I pin more than one app at a time?
No. Pinning locks the device to a single app. If you need someone to move between two apps, use a Guest user or a second user profile instead, which gives them a separate space with only the apps you install there and none of your accounts or data.
Does pinning stop incoming calls and alarms?
No. Calls still come through and can be answered, and alarms still ring. Pinning restricts navigation, the notification shade and the home screen; it does not put the phone into any kind of silent or airplane mode. Use Do Not Disturb alongside pinning if you want a quieter handoff.
The bottom line
App pinning is one of those Android features that costs nothing, takes a minute to enable and quietly solves a problem you have every week: handing your phone to someone without handing them everything on it. Turn it on once, leave the PIN requirement enabled, and learn the pin and unpin gestures for your navigation style.
Just remember what it is for. It keeps a person inside one app; it does not protect the contents of that app or resist a restart. For a child’s daily device or a true kiosk, reach for Family Link, a Guest user or a kiosk app. For everything else, pinning is the fastest tool on the phone.
