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Increasing mobile app security with time-outs and native locks

Updated on March 3, 2022

Increase the security of your mobile apps by configuring automatic app locks, and by adding convenient and secure mechanisms to unlock them. For example, you can configure your app to lock after a period of time and require users to unlock it by using a native fingerprint scanner.

Before you begin: Create a mobile channel for your app. For more information, see Setting up mobile apps.
  1. Open your mobile channel:
    1. In the navigation pane of App Studio, click Channels.
    2. In the Current channel interfaces section, click the tile that represents a mobile channel for your app.
  2. On the mobile channel page, on the Configuration tab, click the Security category.
  3. In the Authentication and security section, select the Enable application lock check box.
  4. In the Unlock with list, choose how to unlock your mobile app:
    ChoiceActions
    Native biometrics and device lockSelect Biometrics and device lock.

    At run time, users unlock the mobile app with the native fingerprint scanner and native unlocking mechanisms, such as their PIN, pattern, or password.

    Native biometrics lock and app PIN
    1. Select Biometrics and app PIN.
    2. In the App PIN length list, select the number of characters for the app PIN.

    At run time, users unlock the mobile app with the native fingerprint scanner and a custom app PIN. Users configure the PIN after the first successful sign-in.

    App PIN
    1. Select App PIN only.
    2. In the App PIN length list, select the number of characters for the app PIN.

    At run time, users unlock the mobile app with a custom app PIN. Users configure the PIN after the first successful sign-in.

    Note: If a user explicitly closes the mobile app, the app displays a lock screen on the next startup.
  5. Optional: To lock the mobile app after it runs in the background for a period of time, select the Lock app after x minutes of inactivity check box, and then enter a time-out value.
  6. Optional: To lock the mobile app after a period of time since the last authentication, select the Lock app after x minutes of session duration check box, and then enter a time-out value.
  7. Click Save.
For example: A mobile app developer for the uPlus company configures the expense reporting app to lock after a specified period of time and require users to unlock it with a fingerprint scanner or by entering the app PIN.
Sample lock settings for an expense reporting app
The video shows the Pega Platform interface. The app developer configures the app lock by specifying its type, amount of numbers in the PIN, and lock timeouts.
  • Security mechanisms for mobile apps

    You can take advantage of several security mechanisms when you build a Pega Mobile Client-based app. These mechanisms help you provide users with access to your mobile apps that matches your company's security requirements.

  • Selecting an authentication service

    Build safe mobile apps by selecting an authentication source that matches your security requirements. For example, you can use the default account authentication to effectively build secure apps that users can access with Pega Platform credentials.

  • Making mobile apps available to users

    To use a mobile app that you configure for a Pega Platform application in production, configure an operator role to provide users with access to your mobile app.

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