Given how important the smartphones in our daily lives, the prospect of having them stolen is a nightmare for many. Aside from the economic damage which, especially for top models, can be very significant, there is also risk privacy and the security of your sensitive data. Given the proliferation of theftstech giants are developing countermeasures that will make life difficult for criminals. A few weeks from now Google will make available to all users of the Android operating system three tools designed to make our smartphones more secure and avoid the risk of illicit operations. Let’s see what it is and how these new functions that will be available in the next few days for Android devices work.
Three anti-thief tools
The news, published in recent days on Reddit byinsider specialized in Android Mishaal Rahman, seems designed to reassure users faced with the prospect of having their personal data stolen along with their smartphone. According to the journalist, the functions announced last May 15th by the Mountain View company would have begun to be distributed to users of the newest smartphones in some markets such as Brazil, and then spread like wildfire throughout the immense universe of devices Android. Judging by the reactions that appeared over the weekend, the available features vary from model to model and from country to country: on Rahman’s Xiaomi 14T Pro, for example, two of the three available security countermeasures appeared while other users identified only the third. This behavior is normal, given that for the implementation of the new functions Google relies on partners, who will decide how and when to activate them on the various models.
The most common function, which will also be available for devices running older versions of Android, will be Remote Lockthat is, the possibility of blocking your stolen smartphone simply by using your phone number (useful when it is not possible to access Find My Device with your Google account password). The most intriguing countermeasure is the so-called Theft Detection Lock: in this case the artificial intelligence system will identify “movements normally associated with theft” to immediately lock the screen. Equally useful could be the third countermeasure, theOffline Device Lockwhich locks your phone if it remains offline for an extended period of time. For these last two functions you will need to have a smartphone or tablet that has Android 10 installed while Remote Lock will work on OS starting from Android 5. If you don’t yet have these functions at your disposal, you could try updating Google Play Services but Google always takes a few days before activating the various features on the thousands of devices running Android.
How they really work
These new security features have been tested for a few months by users of Android Beta versions so we know more or less how they really work. What certainly attracts the attention of experts is Theft Detection Lock, perhaps the most innovative feature announced by Google in recent years. In this case, user intervention is not necessary, since the system artificial intelligence identified a series of movements typically associated with a theft. According to Google experts, when the phone is snatched from the user’s hands and the thief tries to escape on foot, by bicycle or by car, the smartphone would be immediately blocked, making it impossible to use. The algorithm would use the device’s built-in accelerometers to detect this series of movements to intervene quickly. It remains to be seen how precise this algorithm will be and whether the function does not activate by mistake but there is no doubt that this is an improvement compared to the automatic blocking systems that have existed so far.
The second security function is designed to allow the smartphone to be protected even without an internet connection. The Offline Device Lock, in fact, intervenes automatically when the smartphone is disconnected from the network, which happens in the event of theft to prevent Find My Device from locating and locking the device. As soon as the thief disconnects from the network, the function should lock the screen, protecting the user’s personal data automatically. The third and final functionality is instead designed as the first response in the event of theft, designed to be simple to use. Instead of accessing Find My Device by entering your Google password, which you may not be able to remember, Remote Lock only needs your phone number and verification via another device to lock your smartphone.
An interesting step forward given that, especially after a theft, remembering the password could be complicated. One thing is certain: even with functions like this, the best thing is to avoid putting yourself in risky situations.