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Using Android tablet offline

S

Stephen Dow

Lurker
I just joined the forums here. I'm fairly technically knowledgeable but new to Android. I bought an Android tablet (Lenovo E10) a week or so ago, partly for the rest of the family including young children to use. I do not have a google (or facebook, twitter, ...) account and would prefer to stay away from them. What I'd like to do is set it up so the kids could play games, use educational apps, read epubs, all offline and without the ability to connect. So far I see where there are two means of setting up separate user accounts: through google (which I'd rather not do) and a Lenovo built-in mechanism they call a child account, which does some of what I want, but not quite all. For one thing I don't see a way to download and install an app as an apk, and then make it available within the child account. It looks like they have fixed lists of apps to choose from. Any suggestions? Do "launchers" have the ability to set up separate user accounts with different permissions?
 
Unfortunately I think the only way is to create a Gmail account and under the play store settings, choose family share for the children. There's also parental control. You can even disable any internet access using other apps, such as no root firewall.
 
Welcome to the wonderful worlds of both Android and Android Forums, Stephen Dow! :)

What I'm gleaning from your post is that you're not eager to let Google, facebook, etc., have access to your personal info. This is very understandable and, especially in the case of facebook, very wise.

However, using an Android [Google's product] device without having a Google account is going to leave you with very limited options. I have no experience with Lenovo, so I can't address their parental controls, but Android and Google's, combined, are very good. Then throw in limiting the tablet's ability to go online, and you'd be in pretty good shape.

Yes, Google definitely collects your data, but you're given great control over what they can and can't do.

There are several problems I can see with your desired scheme. One being a matter of space--downloading everything you want the kids to have access to will use up a lot of space. Two, some things require an Internet connection for full functionality. Some games let you sync with their server, so game progress is preserved, and you can pick up where you left off, even on a different device. There's more, but that'll do for now.

I think that creating a Google account and then going through its settings with a fine-tooth comb should be workable for you. Then set all the parental controls available to you, including disallowing purchasing apps without a password, disallowing the device going online by making it require entering your Wi-Fi network's password, etc., and you're good to go.
Do "launchers" have the ability to set up separate user accounts with different permissions?
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No. Launchers just give you cosmetic control over how your device looks/acts. If you're interested in seeing some things my launcher can do, please read this thread about ADW Launcher.

I know you can create different user accounts on your device, presumably with different permissions. Though I've done this for decades on Linux proper, I have no experience or need to do so on my Android devices, so I can't help much there.
 
Stephen Dawl, welcome to the fourms.


Android Tablets, ah the ball is in my hand looking at a split, a 1 to nine split,Been bowling on a team for ten years, well I had my android tab since March, and there is limited ideas without using the google account, but look for kid friendly games, they are easily can be found, and yes mine has so much space, think around 50 Gigabites on it, so you can do a lot of offline notes, in the screen off mode.

I think you have to apply it duration of having it off and pushing the stylish pen, google me wrong, but pretty much sure that you can do, also if you have grocery notes to take with you. You can try the samsung notes, it is so easy and user friendly interface with the stylist of like drawing too, if your kids are into that kind of intrested. Especially if they like to do comic books, but heast the warning it takes you many years to do like Batman for instance.

Anyways you can do so much without adding too much onto it.

As Moody Suggested for Launchers, ADW is a pretty easy launcher to add in.
 
Stephen Dow said:
I just joined the forums here. I'm fairly technically knowledgeable but new to Android. I bought an Android tablet (Lenovo E10) a week or so ago, partly for the rest of the family including young children to use. I do not have a google (or facebook, twitter, ...) account and would prefer to stay away from them. What I'd like to do is set it up so the kids could play games, use educational apps, read epubs, all offline and without the ability to connect. So far I see where there are two means of setting up separate user accounts: through google (which I'd rather not do) and a Lenovo built-in mechanism they call a child account, which does some of what I want, but not quite all. For one thing I don't see a way to download and install an app as an apk, and then make it available within the child account. It looks like they have fixed lists of apps to choose from. Any suggestions? Do "launchers" have the ability to set up separate user accounts with different permissions?
Click to expand...



Lenovo is my phone, a Moto z2 force, it can be turned on by the system settings, like I said before. You have to kind of experiment for yourself too, but also have a lot of fun with the tablet too :) (See my post above this one).
 
Despite the responses saying there's not much that can be done without a Google account, in the few days since I posted my query I have found and installed various apps without going through the Google Play store. It's not that obscure or technical. I think I started with F-Droid (https://f-droid.org/) which is sort of a "play store" for open source apps. Also I realized that what I called "a Lenovo built-in mechanism they call a child account" is actually an Android feature explained here. If you make the extra user a regular account rather than a child account, it comes closer to doing what I wanted; i.e. it can have its own installed apps obtained through F-Droid or apkmirror or wherever. In my situation, with the device staying at home where there is only one wifi available, I can use the wifi password as a means of restricting internet access. It would be nice if future versions of Android allowed more control over setting permissions for that account.
 
Good luck with installing non-play store apps, because you're overriding your security settings, which is an open gate for apps that are modded doing God knows what on your device...
 
Be very, very wary and judicious installing apk files on your own. A lot of people do want to avoid Google's oversight but one big advantage with the Play Store is the apps there are at least more curated. On occasion perhaps too much but for most people it's a safer way to keep their devices safer than not. Use third-party sources when you're thoroughly versed in the Android ecosystem, not when you're just getting familiar with it.
As for your logic that this tablet is staying in the home, that's not the relevant issue you need to worry about. It's the online factor that's risky. Physical possession of a device to hack into it is a serious problem but it's the remotely executable exploits that are now a current trend. Today's Internet has devolved into a real mess so when you're using various online services that's a much more likely weak point for most of us.
Basically, if you're averse to Google, don't get an Android device.
 
Long overdue reply here ...
svim said:
Be very, very wary [...]
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That's what I'm doing by only allowing the kids to use it offline.
As for your logic that this tablet is staying in the home, that's not the relevant issue you need to worry about. It's the online factor that's risky.
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I thought I made it pretty clear already, but let me explain again. There are open wifi hotspots many places, but at my home there is only one connection in range, my home wifi, which I have password-protected. So if the device stays at home and I don't give it or the kids that password, it stays offline.
 
Do your kids have phones with a data allowance? Have a look and see if your tablet has connected to any networks you don't recognize, and if so, check the kids' phones to see if they've set up a hotspot.
(not that I'm paranoid......)
 
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