Apps and advertisers are coming for your lock screen, and it’s going to be exhausting

Image: Glance

The lock screen on your phone is the hottest thing in tech. Users have more control over how their lock screen looks and works after Apple made it a centerpiece of the newest version of its mobile operating system. Apple showed off a world in which your lock screen is more than just a security measure, as well as a place in which companies can put information, apps, and even ads. Apple is not the only company considering this. A lock screen content company is in talks with US carriers and plans to launch in the US in the next two months, according to a report.

The apps and notifications on your home screen are trying to get you to pay more attention. It appears that it is headed one step further: onto the first thing you see when you turn on your phone, before you even pick it up or unlocks it. That may be too far.

One way to think of the app is like a Discover feed on your phone's lock screen. Every time you turn on your phone, the company serves up a set of news headlines, videos, quizzes, games, and photos. Users consume these looks 65 times a day on average, according to Glance.

Image: Glance

It's all filled with advertisements. InMobi Group is an Indian company. The company says its software is used in more than 400 million phones in Asia. The company is an investor in the company.

It's a sensible idea if it's called Glance. You don't need to keep your phone locked, you just trust your device to bring you something interesting every time you turn it on, and you don't need to constantly dip in and out of apps looking for news and information. There will be a couple of non-intrusive ads. I bought the Amazon device with ads on the lock screen to save a few bucks, and it doesn't bother me. I wouldn't have bought the Prime Exclusive phones that came with lock screen ads if I had known about them.

Apple talked about how it sees a more feature-rich lock screen as a way to help people use their phones less. Craig Federighi referred to the lock screen as the face of your phone, and said that features like Live Activities could make it easier to get quick information without having to open your phone. He said that once you unlocked your phone, you almost forgot why you were there.

Image: Apple

These companies are giving advertisers and apps a chance to get closer to you. The better to grab you every time your phone lights up is that developers will build Live Activities that stay around long after they are useful. Platforms will try to get you to join the feed before you even press a button.

Developers will use settings that users don't change to their advantage, and most users don't change their settings. When Glance launched, the CEO of InMobi said consumers will move from seeking content to consuming it. That is extremely bleak. It's probably true.

A Glance-like future is a way of turning a phone into a device that can only be used for consumption. Is it really worth it to be able to access endless feeds of medium- interesting content? To help you realize you didn't need to look at your phone at all, I would argue that we should be finding places to addfriction, to give you what you need when you look at your phone. If Federighi is correct, putting a TikTok-style video feed between you and your home screen is a bad idea.

It is a good example of where this is going. In June, it held Glance Live Fest, a virtual three-day festival that was entirely on users' lock screens. More than 70 million people used it to watch concerts and interactive challenges. You are transported every time someone sends you a text. It sounds like it's exhausting.

It is clear that our lock screens could be better. A push for more personalization will make a lot of people happy. That space should not be used for distraction or advertising. We shouldn't give more of our phones away.