Messages and privacy

What you will need

Before you begin the course, check your Android tablet is charged up, switched on, and showing the Home screen. Your tablet operating software should also be up to date.

Remember, there are lots of different brands of Android tablet, and they all do things slightly differently. Some of the screens on your tablet might look a little different to the ones on this tip sheet, but you should still be able to follow along.

Using Do not disturb

The Do not disturb feature can temporarily stop your tablet from receiving notifications. If you have Do not disturb switched on, your tablet won’t notify you of texts, emails and calls until you turn it off again.

To turn on Do not disturb, first tap the Home button to go back to the Home screen.

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to show the Apps screen. Find the Settings app icon and tap it.
2. Look for Notifications and tap it to find the Do not disturb option.
3. Tap the switch so that it changes colour and moves to the right.

Turning off Do not disturb

Tap the switch next to Do not disturb so that it becomes white and moves to the left. Your tablet is ready to receive messages and alerts again.

Setting up a Do not disturb schedule

Using a schedule can be very convenient, because it means you don’t have to remember to turn on Do not disturb at those times of the day when you want it.

1. Tap on the words Do not disturb.
2. A list of options will appear. Tap on the words Turn on as scheduled.
3. To set up our schedule, we first need to turn this feature on. Tap the switch labelled Off. It moves to the right and becomes blue.

Your tablet won’t show any notifications, reminders or messages until you turn Do not disturb off. If your tablet is the type that can use a SIM card and mobile data, it won’t be able to receive calls either.

4. A box appears showing the letters for the days of the week and a set time. When you first turn on this feature, every day is circled and a time range is displayed under Set schedule. This means Do not disturb will turn on and off at the scheduled time every day of the week.
5. If you don’t want Do not disturb on a particular day, you can tap the day’s letter to remove it from the schedule. Tap on the words Set schedule. A box pops up to set the time for the schedule.

Setting the schedule time

As an example, we want to be able to watch our favourite TV shows from 6pm to 9pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. We’ll set Do not disturb to come on automatically for each of those evenings

1. In the pop-up box, the word Start should be in blue at the top. Tap Start if it isn’t.
2. Scroll the hours from 10 back to 6.
3. Tap on the grey word End at the top of the pop-up box. The time changes to show 7 am.
4. Scroll the hours from 7 to 9. Then, scroll to change am to pm.
5. Tap Start again to double-check that Do not disturb will turn on at 6 pm, then tap End to check it will turn off at 9 pm.
6. When you’re happy with the settings, tap Done, and the box will disappear

Now under where it says Set schedule, it should say 6pm to 9pm.

Setting the schedule days

Now let’s make sure that Do not disturb only turns on for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings.

1. Under Days, tap on the letters for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and then the final S for Saturday. These days are now off and no longer have a circle around them.
2. Only the letters for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday should have circles now, and so Do not disturb will be on for those days.

Double checking your schedule

Tap the Back arrow at the top of the screen, to go back to the Do not disturb options screen.

Under Turn on as Scheduled, the switch should be blue to show that it is turned on. If it isn’t blue, tap the switch to turn it on.

You should also be able to see a little summary confirming:

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and the time 6 pm to 9 pm.

Setting Do not disturb exceptions

You can still choose to receive some important messages or reminders while Do not disturb is turned on.

To set this up, your tablet should still be showing the Do not disturb screen.

1. Tap on Allow exceptions to continue.
2. It’s a good idea to turn on Alarms so you can still receive any important alarms you might have set. Tap the switch next to Alarms to turn this feature on. The switch will move to the right and become blue.
3. If you are planning to use your tablet to watch a movie or listen to a show, you will need to turn on Media. This lets you still hear the sound while Do not disturb is on. Tap the switch next to Media to make it blue and turn this feature on

Setting exceptions for calls

If you see an option that say Calls from, your tablet can take a SIM card to use mobile data. You can explore this option later.

Setting exceptions for messages

Messages from lets you still receive messages from certain people while Do not disturb is active. It’s handy for allowing friends or family members to contact you in an emergency.

1. Tap Messages from and a list of options pops up. We’re going to let messages through from our Favourite contacts only. You’ll still receive messages from anyone marked as a favourite in your tablet’s Contacts app.
2. Tap Favourite contacts only and the options pop-up goes away. Favourite contacts only is written under Messages from.

Setting exceptions for alerts

Repeat callers can be useful if your tablet can receive phone calls, but we’re going leave the feature off and move on to Event/task alerts. These are important calendar events, such as a physiotherapist appointment.

Tap the switch next to Event/task alerts to turn this on.

Setting exceptions for reminders

Reminders are those things you should remember to do, such as take medication or put the recycling out.

Tap the switch next to Reminders to turn this on.

Lock screen info for lost tablets

Your Android tablet has a handy feature to help someone return your tablet to you if you’ve left it behind somewhere.

To set it up:

1. Tap the Back arrow at the top left of the screen to return to the Settings menu. Then scroll down the menu until you find Lock screen and tap it.
2. Scroll down to find Contact information and tap it. A box will pop up, along with the keyboard.
3. Type in a short message here. This is the message that will appear on the Lock screen to help others return your tablet if you leave it somewhere. Include a number that someone can call to let you know they have found your tablet.
4. When you’re happy with the message, tap Done.

Checking the Lock screen message

Lock your tablet by pressing the Power button on the side so the screen turns off.

Now press the Power button again to wake up the tablet and show the Lock screen.

Your message and contact number will appear under the clock.

The Lock screen message should show your home number or the mobile number of a friend, rather than your mobile phone number.

Congratulations!

You’ve completed the Android tablet: Messages and privacy activity.

Next up, we'll learn the Android tablet: Saving and sharing files activity.