How To Add a Camera Shortcut to the Pixel And Pixel XL Lock Screen

If you have a Google Pixel or Pixel XL then you know your phone has a terrific camera capable of taking high-quality pictures and video alike. However, by default your Pixel or Pixel XL won’t ket you launch the camera app quickly. This is an optional feature of your phone, and disabled by default. Fortunately, if you want to be able to quickly open the camera on the Pixel and Pixel XL with a camera shortcut, it’s easy to add a shortcut command to the lock screen.

The first way to add a camera shortcut on the Pixel and Pixel XL is by going to the Settings app, followed by My device > Lock screen and enable “Shortcuts.” After you get to that screen, you can customize which shortcut icons are shown down below on the lock screen, and loading one of these apps is a simple as dragging it upwards.

If you’d like to just add the camera app specifically to your lock screen, follow these steps:

1. Turn on the Pixel or Pixel XL
2. Go to the Settings application
3. Go to Device tab and select “Lock Screen”
4. Below the Swipe Options make sure to mark the “Camera Shortcut” option
5. Now visit the lock screen and you should see the Camera shortcut on the bottom right of the screen.
6. Hold your finger on the camera icon and swipe in any direction until the Camera application is launched

Have any other suggestions for quickly opening the camera app on the Pixel or Pixel XL? Share them with us in the comments!