Want to turn off Android’s encryption? Here’s how

Android’s stock encryption feature is definitely useful for adding a solid, but certainly not impenetrable layer of protection on your smartphone’s data. However, it can be rather intrusive at times and for many users the added layer of inconvenience isn’t worth the increase in protection, so how do you turn it off? It’s actually pretty easy if you know what you’re doing and Android Central was kind enough to give us a quick rundown of what to do. 

Encrypting your smartphone or tablet is a great way to add a passive layer of security to your device, something that doesn’t require a lot of work on your end and could actually protect your data if your device is stolen or you’ve somehow managed to become a target of some kind. It’s far from an impenetrable shield in terms of security, but as long as its not getting in your way there’s certainly no harm in having the protection, right? Truth is, sometimes Full Disk Encryption can get in the way. Performance hits, especially when combined with the workload some power users (you know who you are) put on their devices, can be too much to deal with. The good news is it’s pretty easy to turn off encryption on most devices, even the new encryption offered in Android 5.0. In most cases all you really need is 20 minutes near an outlet and some know how. In other cases, most notably the Nexus 6, things get a little stickier.