This is the operational part of the unit. Three things to do, in a precise order, on every device you use.
There is nothing to install and nothing to pay for: it is a configuration already present on every device, set at the factory to values designed for convenience.
It puts into practice the recommendation screen lock timeout.
The three settings you have to find
Before the instructions, the picture. “Automatic locking” is not a single setting: it is three, and if you configure only one the result can be nothing at all.
| # | Setting | What it does | Where it usually sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Screen switch-off | How long before the screen goes dark | Display / Brightness / Battery |
| 2 | Password request | How long after switch-off it gets asked for | Security / Lock screen |
| 3 | Manual locking | The shortcut to lock at once | Nowhere: it is a key combination |
The most common mistake is configuring only the first. A dark screen that asks for nothing on waking protects nothing: moving the mouse is enough.
On phones the two settings are often merged into one. On computers they are almost always separate, and that is where the problem starts.
Step 1 — The computer
On Windows
The settings are in two different places.
Screen switch-off: Settings → System → Power & battery → Screen and sleep. Set the switch-off to 1 or 2 minutes on battery, and 2–3 minutes when plugged in.
Password request: Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options → “If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?”. Set it to “When PC wakes up from sleep”.
There is also a third route, often more effective: Settings → Personalisation → Lock screen → Screen saver → tick “On resume, display logon screen” and set the wait to 1 minute.
Manual locking: Windows key + L. It is the most useful shortcut there is.
On macOS
Screen switch-off: System Settings → Lock Screen → “Turn display off on battery when inactive”. Set it to 1 or 2 minutes.
Password request: the same screen, “Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off”. Set it to “Immediately”.
That second entry is the most important and the most ignored: the default on many systems is several minutes, which add to the switch-off time.
On Linux
The path depends on the desktop environment, but the structure is the same: Settings → Privacy → Screen lock, with two values — the switch-off delay and the lock delay. Set the second to “immediately”.
Manual locking: Super + L on most distributions.
Step 2 — The phone and the tablet
Here it is simpler, because there is almost always only one setting.
On Android
Settings → Display → Screen timeout (or “Screen switch-off”): set it to 30 seconds.
Then Settings → Security → Screen lock → the gear icon → “Lock automatically”: set it to “Immediately after screen off”.
Also check the entry “Power button instantly locks”: if it is on, pressing the side button locks the phone at once. It is the fastest way to close the device when you put it down.
On iPhone and iPad
Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock: set it to 30 seconds (the shortest value available).
On iOS the lock happens together with the screen switch-off: there is no second delay to configure. Do check, though, that the “Never” option is not selected, which often happens on devices used for reading or for recipes in the kitchen.
Step 3 — The exceptions you genuinely need
A 30-second lock is inconvenient in some real situations, and it is right to face them rather than pretend they do not exist. If you do not, permanent disabling will arrive anyway — it will just arrive out of frustration.
| Situation | The correct solution |
|---|---|
| Watching a video | No action: playback apps already prevent locking |
| Following a recipe or sheet music | Many systems have a “keep screen on” mode per app; otherwise “Do not disturb” mode or a dedicated widget |
| A presentation or a meeting | Turn on presentation mode: it suspends the lock only for the duration |
| Navigation in the car | Navigation apps keep the screen on by themselves |
| Prolonged reading | Raise the timeout on that device only, if it is a tablet holding no critical accounts |
The last row carries the general principle: the choice does not have to be the same on every device. A tablet used only for reading can have a longer timeout than a work computer. What counts is that the decision is deliberate, not inherited from the factory configuration.
The action worth more than all the settings
Automatic locking is a safety net: it steps in when you forget. But the best protection is manual locking, because it is immediate.
Learn your system’s shortcut — Windows + L, Control + Command + Q, Super + L — and use it every time you get up. Even for thirty seconds. Even to fetch a sheet from the printer.
It takes two days to become automatic. After that you stop thinking about it, and the automatic timeout becomes what it should be: a net you almost never use.
A three-day plan
If you would rather proceed in stages than configure everything at once.
Day 1 — The work computer. It is the most exposed device, because it sits in a shared space and holds material that is not yours alone. Configure both settings and try the lock shortcut five times in a row.
Day 2 — The phone. A thirty-second timeout, immediate lock, the power button locking at once. Check it works: put the phone down and count.
Day 3 — Everything else. Tablets, the home computer, any shared devices. And here you decide the exceptions: which devices need a longer timeout, and why.
At the end of the three days do a single check: on each device, put it down, wait, pick it up. If it asks you nothing, the setting is not the one you thought it was.
The most frequent objections
“Thirty seconds is too little, I have to unlock constantly.” On a phone the unlock is biometric and takes a fraction of a second: in practice you do not notice. If it bothers you, the problem is not the timeout — it is that biometric unlocking is not configured.
“At the office we are all colleagues.” True, and in almost every case nothing happens. But locking the screen also protects you: if something happens from a device showing as open in your name, the awkward position is yours.
“At home it is not needed.” It is needed for a different reason: not against the people you live with, but because you decide what to share and when. And there are visitors.
“I already have a computer password.” The password protects the switching on. If the computer stays on and unlocked all day, that password gets asked for once in the morning and never again.
“I lose unsaved work when it locks.” No: locking the screen closes nothing and switches nothing off. The applications stay open exactly as you left them. It is different from sleep and very different from shutting down.
The settings that undo the work you just did
Configuring the two timers well and then leaving one of these options on is like closing the door and leaving the window open. They are worth checking at the same time.
Unlocking in “trusted places”. Some systems allow the device to stay unlocked in geographic locations marked as safe — typically home and the office. It is exactly the opposite of what is needed: the office is where this scenario is most likely, not least. If the option is on, turn it off.
Unlocking through a connected device. The computer stays unlocked as long as your phone or watch is nearby. Convenient, but if you get up leaving your phone on the desk — which happens — the computer stays open.
Notifications with previews on the locked screen. It is the most important setting in this section. If the phone shows message content without being unlocked, verification codes are readable by anybody who sees it. Set previews to “only when unlocked”: the notification still arrives, the content does not.
A password vault that stays open. If the store unlocks once a day and stays reachable, an open window exposes every credential. Set the vault’s own automatic lock to a few minutes — it is a setting inside the application, separate from the system’s.
“Remember me on this device” web sessions. Useful, but on a device left open in a shared space they should be used with judgement: keep them for ordinary services, not for the bank and the main email.
What you have gained
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| A 5–15 minute open window at every absence | A 30–60 second window |
| Locking only at switch-on | Locking at every break |
| Protection that depends on remembering | Protection that works even when you forget |
| The other defences suspended for minutes a day | The other defences active almost always |
The last row is the most important: passwords, vault, second factor and encryption work only on a locked device. The timeout decides how many minutes a day everything else is switched off.
How this connects to the Cyber Welfare Framework
| Pillar | What this content contributes |
|---|---|
| Skills | Telling the three settings apart and configuring them in the right order |
| Secure Behaviour | Manual locking as an automatic gesture when you get up |
| Awareness | Understanding that the factory values are tuned for convenience |
Reference level: FL2 — Beginner. The step to FL3 comes when manual locking becomes a reflex.
Summary
- The settings are three, not one: switch-off, password request, manual locking.
- Configuring only the switch-off protects nothing: moving the mouse is enough.
- Exceptions should be handled case by case, not by turning the lock off everywhere.
- The manual lock shortcut is worth more than any timeout.
One thing to do today. Press your computer’s lock shortcut right now. If you did not know what it was, you have just learned it — and that is the step that counts most.
Related content
- Screen lock timeout — the recommendation this guide comes from
- How screen locking works — the mechanism underneath the setting
- Impact of leaving your screen unlocked — why the lock time counts more than it seems
- Signs someone used your device — what to check if the device was left open
Related resources
Short reads from the Resources section, for anyone who wants to stop on a single aspect:
Start with the first step: the Cyber Welfare Programme guides you free of charge, one recommendation at a time.
