Google Launches New Theft Detection Lock for Android
This Is How It Will Protect Your Phone From Thieves
At this year's Google I/O conference, the Mountain View-based company announced a new suite of anti-theft features coming with Android 15. Among them are an anti-theft detection lock, offline device lock, and the ability to remotely lock your device.
We knew Google would start implementing it first in Brazil and it has already become a reality: Google has started implementing theft detection blocking for a group of users and we have already been able to see it in action, even with the first photos. What exactly does it do? Use multiple sensors to prevent unauthorized access.
The choice of Brazil as a test country is no coincidence, but as Android analyst Mishaal Rahman points out at Droid Life , it's one of the places in the world where the most mobile phones are stolen, with more than a million phones stolen annually.
A review of what these three new security measures of Android 15 offer, where the blocking function is activated when the mobile detects that it has been stolen, which leads to its immediate blocking. With remote locking, it is possible to protect your data by locking or wiping your data remotely after verifying your identity on another connected device. Finally, the offline device lock adds another layer of security by automatically locking your phone if someone tries to keep it offline for too long.
How does it do it? The system uses artificial intelligence to detect potential thefts by recognizing suspicious patterns, such as sudden movements of the device. Specifically, it analyzes data recorded by the accelerometer and gyroscope to see if it matches what typically happens in a theft. It also takes into account other factors such as unusual internet activity. For example, if your phone connects to a new network or is away from your regular network for an extended period of time, the system will automatically increase security.
In the pictures posted above, you can see the anti-theft screen and the various toggle buttons to activate these functions.
Google rolled out this automatic anti-theft feature in the latest beta versions of Android , but it won’t just be coming to Android 15, it plans to integrate it into earlier versions of its mobile operating system. According to Rahman, the idea is to bring it to phones running Android 10 and above through Google Play Services. Of course, we don’t know when the official global rollout date will be.