How To Use Panic Button on Android Devices

Google is currently testing a new feature for Android users that allows you force-close unresponsive apps on your phone without touching the home button. Am sure you have experienced a situation when after downloading an app on your phone, it becomes buggy and unresponsive (hangs) and all efforts to close such apps proves abortive except reverting back to home screen and force closing such app which takes a little time. 

Now Google is bringing a new feature called Panic Button that will allow you close freezing apps by just tapping on the back button continuously. 

    

HOW IT WORKS

The feature is simple. By default, all you need to do to trigger the panic button is press the back key four times. However, according to XDA Developers, you can reset the number of presses in Android’s SystemUI APK. SystemUI controls the notification shade, status bar and navigation buttons.

Once the system detects four presses on the back button in quick succession, it shuts down the offending app. However, this feature has not been enabled for any devices yet. Anyone tech-savvy enough can enable the panic button themselves; however, it is unclear how reliable the feature is right now. Google has not formally announced it either.

CAUSES OF APPS FREEZING & HANGING

The obvious cause of apps hanging is malware and virus attack while another reason could be the buggy nature of the app due to poor developers work. You notice these apps also hanging on phones with 3gb RAM and above. 

Google has been busy recently removing potentially dangerous apps from playstore but people can still download and install such apps from third-party sources so this is yet another method to fight against vulnerable apps.