Google Brings New Android Features To Protect Before, During, And After Theft
I’ve had a phone stolen before. It was a long time ago and it was a pretty basic Tecno feature phone, but it still hurt a lot. Ever since then, I’ve been extremely vigilant with my phones and I’ve never fallen victim. However, I know that not everyone can avoid the theft of their smartphone.
Google has introduced some new theft protection features that should give you a lot more peace of mind in the event that your phone is stolen. You’ll know that both your device and the data on it are safe. Let’s talk about these features.
Protecting Your Phone And Data Before A Theft
Before your phone is ever stolen, there are many features present in Android that can help you ensure that your data and your device remain as safe as possible. Let’s talk about the changes and upgrades that Google has made:
- Factory Reset Is More Secure: Most thieves steal phones to sell them, so the first step they take is to factory reset them. Now, if a factory reset is forced on a device, it cannot be set up until either the device or Google credentials linked to the phone are entered, making it essentially useless to the thief. This feature will be coming as a part of Android 15.
- Private Space: Banking, crypto, and work apps may have valuable data or funds that you wouldn’t want people to have access to. Private Space, coming in Android 15, will give you a separate area on your phone to keep certain apps, and it’ll be protected with a separate PIN.
- Changing Sensitive Settings Requires Authentication: Some settings, when disabled or changed, can aid people preparing to run away with your device. Now, attempting to turn off Find My Device or lengthen the screen timeout will require authentication.
- Optional Enhanced Authentication: Enhanced authentication will be an optional feature that will require your biometric verification before certain settings or features (changing PIN, accessing passkey, turning off theft protection, etc.) can be modified from an untrusted location.
Protecting Your Phone At The Moment It Is Stolen
I never would have thought there’d be ways to further protect your phone at the exact time of theft, but apparently, no one should doubt Google.
Now, using an AI-powered feature called Theft Detection Lock, your phone will be able to detect when it has been snatched suddenly from you and is taken away at a relatively high speed. The device will automatically lock the screen when this type of movement is detected.
Another feature, called Offline Detection Lock, will be able to lock your phone’s screen when it has been disconnected from the internet for a long time. This feature and Theft Detection Lock will both be available to devices running Android 10 or newer later this year.
Protecting Your Phone In The Moments Right After It Is Snatched
Most of us are familiar with the protections in place after a phone has been stolen. Using Find My Device, you’ve always been able to lock and wipe a missing phone. However, it can be hard because you need to log in from another device, and sometimes, you can’t even remember your Google password.
Now, with Remote Lock, you’ll be able to lock your stolen device using just your phone number and a security challenge, from any other device. Using this, you can buy time to eventually use Find My Device. Remote Lock is coming to devices on Android 10 or newer later this year.
