New Android anti-theft protection introduced on first devices

Google is strengthening theft protection on Android smartphones with several new features. According to initial media reports and Reddit users, the features are now available on some devices. Google had already announced in a blog entry in May that the new features would be coming to Android 10 later this year.

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The article also provides an overview About new features. This includes some preventive measures even before theft occurs. In the future, Android users will have the option to combine a reset of their device to factory settings with entering their account data. This means that thieves can hardly use a stolen smartphone.

Security for sensitive settings and data

Some thieves also target owners’ sensitive data on stolen devices. In the future, Android users will be able to secure sensitive apps with an additional PIN, including, for example, banking or health data in the private sector. According to the blog entry, blocking factory reset and protecting sensitive apps will only come with Android 15.

This also makes it difficult for thieves to change relevant security settings. To do this, users can set additional steps when changing important settings to deactivate Google’s location function or the period after which the display automatically turns off. PIN, password or biometric verification may also be required. Google’s Location feature has been available since Android 5.

AI recognizes specific acts of theft

Biometric verification can also be set up as an additional barrier if the thief already knows the PIN. This function is for important settings in your Google account or device, for example changing your PIN.

A new feature is the AI-supported use of motion sensors to detect theft attempts. If the device detects an engaged activity, which could mean, for example, the cell phone being snatched from its owner’s hand, the cell phone screen immediately locks. The purpose of this is to make it more difficult for thieves to access data.

Offline lock and easy device tracking

If a device has already fallen into the hands of thieves, it often goes offline for a period of time. Another new feature comes into play here: Offline Locking: If a smartphone is offline for a long time, it is automatically locked and can only be unlocked with the real owner’s account data.

As Google writes, many users become so shocked or stressed when they lose their smartphone that they don’t even remember their Google account password. In the future, your own cell phone number and a security check from another device will be enough to use Google’s device tracking and mark your smartphone as stolen on Google. This feature should be available for all devices starting with Android 10.

The first model contains functions

The new functions are now visible on the first devices. A report from TheVerge According to this, the features are already available in Xiaomi 14T Pro. on reddit One user reports that AI-assisted theft detection and offline locking is already available to him, but not the ability to remotely lock his device using just his cell phone number. According to a Reddit thread, some Google Pixel users in the United States report that they can, on the contrary, use remote locking with a cell phone number, but not the other two functions in question.

If you don’t have the new features yet, you can try updating Google Play Services. Google usually releases new functions step by step. So presumably more models will get this feature soon, but for now we’ll just have to wait and see.

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