Before you uninstall Stillgarth, turn off unlock detection, and save anything you want to keep. Android won’t uninstall an app while it’s an active device administrator, and Phone Guard uses that feature to hear about wrong unlock codes. Once it’s off, Stillgarth uninstalls like any other app, and everything it stored on the phone is deleted.
How do you turn off unlock detection?
The quick way is inside the app:
- Open Guard, then its Settings.
- Scroll to Uninstalling and tap Turn off unlock detection.
- You’ll see “Unlock detection is off. You can now uninstall Stillgarth.”
This also turns Guard off, because Guard can’t notice wrong codes without it.
If your vault is set up and “Ask for the vault to change Guard” is on (it is by default), opening Guard settings first asks for your vault password, PIN or fingerprint. That’s there so someone who picks up your phone can’t quietly disable Guard.
What if you can’t open the vault?
You can still turn it off in Android’s own settings. The exact place differs between phone makers, but it’s usually in the security settings, under a name like Device admin apps. Searching Settings for “device admin” finds it on most phones. Look for “Stillgarth Guard unlock detection” and switch it off. Android warns that Guard will stop noticing wrong-code attempts, which is expected.
What does uninstalling delete?
Everything Stillgarth stored on the phone:
- every file and folder in the vault, and its keys;
- Guard’s log and its photos, including ones still waiting to move into the vault;
- intruder-activity reports, and all settings.
Nothing is kept on a server, because there isn’t one: Stillgarth has no internet permission. Once the app is gone, those files can’t be recovered from the phone.
What is not deleted: a backup file you saved somewhere else, such as your Google Drive, and any copies you exported or shared earlier. Those stay until you delete them yourself.
What should you save first?
Decide what you want to keep, then pick one of these:
- Keep it encrypted, for later. Make sure your backup is current: unlock the vault so waiting Guard photos move in, tap Back up now, then lock the vault so it runs. Check the “Last backup” line, and make sure you have the vault password (12 or more characters) or the recovery code it opens with.
- Take files out in readable form. Open each file and use Export to phone or Share. An exported copy is no longer protected by the vault, so keep it somewhere safe.
- Moving to a new phone? Back up here, then restore on the new phone. You don’t need to uninstall from the old phone first.
If you don’t need anything, go straight to uninstalling. You don’t have to erase the vault first; uninstalling removes it. If you’d like to see it gone before you uninstall, Erase vault in Vault settings does that explicitly.
Why does Android need this extra step?
Android asks for it with every app that uses device admin, not just Stillgarth: an app can’t be uninstalled while its device admin is active. Guard only uses the narrowest form, “watch login”, which tells it about wrong unlock codes. It can’t lock, wipe or change your phone.
Will Guard tell you if unlock detection is off?
Yes. Guard’s main screen shows a check for each thing it needs. If unlock detection has been switched off, from Android’s settings or anywhere else, the check reads “Unlock detection off · Set up”, and Guard stops noticing failed unlocks until you turn it back on. That’s worth a glance now and then, since Android’s settings can switch it off without asking the vault.
Can you reinstall later?
Yes. A fresh install starts with an empty vault and Guard switched off. If you made a backup, you can restore it from the create-vault screen with Restore from a backup, as long as you have its password or recovery code. Then set up Guard again, as described in how Phone Guard catches a wrong unlock.