Free tool
Pattern lock strength checker: how strong is yours?
Draw a pattern and see how easy it would be to guess, and why. Works with the 3 × 3 Android grid, 4 × 4 and 5 × 5.
- Runs on your device
- Nothing saved or sent
- Reasons, not just a score
Drag across the dots, or tap them one at a time and press Check pattern. With a keyboard: arrow keys move, Enter adds a dot, Backspace removes the last, Escape clears.
Checked on this device. Never saved or sent.
How it works
Draw a pattern on the phone to see how guessable it is
Draw one like yours, not your real one, if you’d rather. Passing over a dot selects it, just like on a phone.
- 1LengthMore dots means more patterns to try.
- 2Where it startsMost people start in a corner.
- 3CrossingsLines that cross are rarer.
- 4Common shapesLetters, lines and edges are tried first.
How it works
How to check your pattern lock
A pattern lock is only as strong as it is unpredictable. This checker looks for the habits that make patterns easy to guess.
- 1
Pick a grid
3 × 3 is the Android grid. 4 × 4 is on some phones and apps. 5 × 5 is the grid VaultShield uses.
- 2
Draw a pattern
Drag across the dots, like on your phone. Passing over a dot selects it. Draw one like yours if you'd rather not draw your real one.
- 3
See how guessable it is
You get a score and the reasons behind it: the shape, where it starts, how long it is, and whether it crosses itself.
3 × 3 vs 5 × 5, in numbers
We counted these ourselves. 3 × 3 uses the standard Android rule. The 5 × 5 figures use VaultShield’s own pad, which also picks up dots your finger passes close to, and its rules: at least one turn, no edge traces or dot-by-dot runs.
389,112
possible patterns on a 3 × 3 grid, counting every length from 4 to 9 dots
26,016
of those use exactly 6 dots
243,464
6-dot patterns VaultShield's 5 × 5 pad allows: 9.4 times as many as 3 × 3
11,642,952
8-dot patterns VaultShield's 5 × 5 pad allows
How to make a stronger pattern lock
Small changes make a big difference to how guessable a pattern is.
- Use more dots. Each extra dot multiplies the number of possible patterns.
- Start somewhere other than a corner, especially the top-left one.
- Cross over your own line at least once. Most patterns never do.
- Avoid letters, numbers and shapes, like L, Z, M or a square.
- Turn off the visible line while you draw, if your phone or app allows it, so no one can watch it.
- Wipe your screen now and then. Finger smudges can show the shape.
Why it matters
Why most pattern locks are easy to guess
People draw the same few shapes
Most patterns start in a corner and move left to right, top to bottom, so a guesser knows where to begin.
Patterns are easy to watch
A drawn line is much easier to remember from a glance than a typed passcode, especially a short one.
Smudges give hints
The oily trail a finger leaves on the screen can show the shape of a pattern you use every day.
VaultShield uses a 5 × 5 pattern
The photo vault needs at least 6 dots, refuses straight lines, edge traces and dot-by-dot runs, and can hide the line while you draw. Face ID can be added as an extra step, never instead of the pattern.
How the pattern lock worksCheck what your photos give away
The photo metadata viewer shows the location, date and phone details hidden inside a photo, and removes them.
Photo metadata viewerFAQ
Questions about pattern locks
More free tools: photo metadata viewer, pixelate and censor, or see all tools.
On the 3 × 3 Android grid there are 389,112 possible patterns, counting every length from 4 to 9 dots, and a 4 × 4 grid has 4,350,069,823,024. On VaultShield's 5 × 5 pad there are 243,464 patterns of exactly 6 dots, 9.4 times the 26,016 on 3 × 3. We counted these ourselves. The 5 × 5 count is lower than you might expect because the app picks up any dot your finger passes close to, not just dots right on the line.
Simple shapes and letters, like L, Z, C and M, and patterns that start in a corner. A 2015 study by Marte Løge at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology looked at about 4,000 patterns: 44% started in the top-left corner and 77% started in one of the four corners. Most moved left to right and top to bottom, and many used only 4 dots, the minimum.
No. The pattern is checked by your browser, on your device, and isn't saved or sent anywhere. The page blocks itself from connecting to the internet, so it works in airplane mode after it loads. You can also draw a pattern that's similar to yours rather than your real one.
It rewards what makes a pattern hard to guess: more dots, direction changes, crossing over itself, longer moves like a chess knight, and not starting in a corner. It caps the score for shapes people try first: straight lines, traces around the edge, dot-by-dot runs and common letters. It's a guide, not a guarantee.
Not usually on a 3 × 3 grid. A 6-digit PIN has 1,000,000 possible codes, and the 3 × 3 grid has fewer than 400,000 patterns in total, most of which people never choose. A longer pattern on a bigger grid closes that gap. Whatever you use, avoid the obvious ones.
More dots means more possible patterns, and more room to avoid the shapes people usually draw. At the shortest length VaultShield allows, 6 dots, its 5 × 5 pad has 243,464 possible patterns, 9.4 times the 26,016 on a 3 × 3 grid. Each extra dot multiplies that again: 8 dots gives 11,642,952.
If your line goes over a dot you haven't used yet, the phone adds it to the pattern, so you can't jump over an unused dot. Android only picks up dots right on the line. VaultShield also picks up dots your finger passes close to, so long moves like a chess knight's grab the dots beside them. This checker does the same: Android-style on 3 × 3 and 4 × 4, VaultShield-style on 5 × 5.