❤️ Your Android phone will restart automatically after 72 hours: here’s why

Google is preparing to enhance Android security with a new feature that will automatically restart your device after prolonged periods of inactivity. This upcoming functionality in Android 16 aims to strengthen data protection by forcing devices into a more secure state when they haven’t been unlocked for an extended time.

The security benefits of automatic smartphone restarts

Most smartphone users rarely power off their devices, often leaving them running for days or even weeks at a time. However, regular device restarts provide significant security advantages that many users overlook. When your Android phone restarts, it enters a heightened security state that protects your information in multiple ways.

Upon restart, your phone requires a PIN, pattern, or password to unlock—biometric methods like fingerprint scanning won’t work until after this initial secure unlock. This requirement creates an important security barrier against unauthorized access, as PIN codes are typically harder for others to obtain than physical biometric data.

Furthermore, a restarted device that hasn’t been unlocked maintains an encrypted state where decryption keys haven’t been loaded into memory. This “at rest” condition means that even sophisticated attempts to bypass the lock screen would still fail to access your personal data.

The security benefits of device restarts include:

• Forced PIN/password authentication instead of biometrics
• Encrypted data remains protected by unloaded decryption keys
• Running applications and processes are terminated
• Temporary vulnerabilities in active memory are cleared

How Android’s automatic restart feature will work

Based on code discoveries by Android Authority, Google appears to be implementing this security feature for the upcoming Android 16 release. The system will automatically trigger a device restart if your phone remains unlocked for 72 consecutive hours. This functionality will be integrated into Android’s Advanced Protection features.

This implementation mirrors a similar approach already found on iPhones, which automatically restarts after four days without being unlocked. However, Apple wasn’t the first to introduce this concept—GrapheneOS, a privacy-focused Android ROM popular among security-conscious users, has included automatic security restarts for some time.

The expected timeline for this feature appears below:

Practical impact for everyday Android users

For most Android users, this security feature will operate invisibly in the background. Since the vast majority of people interact with their smartphones multiple times daily, the 72-hour threshold will rarely be reached under normal circumstances. The automatic restart becomes relevant primarily in specific scenarios.

Cases where automatic restart provides meaningful protection include:

1. When your device is stolen but remains powered on
2. If your phone is confiscated by authorities
3. During extended hospital stays or other situations where you’re separated from your device
4. If someone attempts to access your data while you’re away from your device

While this feature represents an evolution rather than a revolution in mobile security, it adds an important layer of protection that activates automatically without user intervention. By forcing devices into their most secure state after extended periods without authentication, Android is implementing a security-by-default approach that protects even users who aren’t actively managing their device security.

As Android 16 approaches release, this automatic restart capability demonstrates Google’s continued focus on adapting proven security concepts across different platforms into the Android ecosystem. For users concerned about data protection, this passive security measure provides additional peace of mind without requiring any configuration or technical knowledge.