Back in May, we heard about a new anti-theft lock feature coming to Android phones, and the feature is now apparently rolling out to users – providing extra protection in the event a phone is stolen.
This was spotted by popular tipster Mishaal Rahman and it appears that Brazil will get the update first. The rest of the world should soon catch up: Google had announced that the feature would be available on mobile phones “later” in 2024.
In the words of Google, Theft Detection Lock will “automatically detect suspicious signals and proactively protect your data on the device.” In other words, it tries to take action if someone has stolen your phone.
Artificial intelligence algorithms are used to detect when a phone has been stolen: Google says the AI looks for “common movements associated with theft,” which likely means a quick pull followed by a quick removal from the scene.
Lock it down
The Android Theft Detection Lock feature is finally rolling out! The feature automatically locks your phone if it detects that the phone has been taken from your hand. It uses data from your phone's accelerometer and gyroscope and checks if frequent movements are associated with… pic.twitter.com/tQcoZdpDs9August 16, 2024
As the name suggests, theft detection lock locks your phone if there is theft. If Android thinks your phone has been stolen but it hasn't, all you have to do is unlock it again to get back to your apps.
The feature will eventually be available on all devices running Android 10 or later, so most modern devices are covered. If your phone is not from Google, it may take a little longer to reach your device.
This is actually part of a suite of protection features rolling out to Android. Your phone will also be locked if many authentication attempts fail in a row or if the phone is offline for a long period of time.
Additionally, whether you're using Android or iOS, you'll want to make sure your phone is registered with the built-in location tracking feature: this means you can lock your handset remotely and even wipe the data should it get lost or be stolen.