After Google Beta testing in Brazil, the first suite of theft protection features for Android smartphones is now widely available…but you have to adhere to it.
Why doesn’t the company automatically add the protections to each compatible device? Overview of Beta test in Brazil helped the company’s developers make this decision. “We learned that users behave very differently in metropolitan areas than in rural areas,” says Jianing Sandra Guo, Android security and privacy product manager at Google. She doesn’t want to add unnecessary friction to users who aren’t as interested in anti-theft software.
Three features that many Android owners can now enable are Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, and Remote Lock. Curious about using these protection features on your Android smartphone? Here’s an overview of how detection happens using artificial intelligence and the steps you need to take to enable anti-theft features.
How does Android Theft Detection work?
Since many thefts can be violent or involve sudden, jerky movements, Guo sought advice from Google’s activity recognition team, which worked on a somewhat similar feature available on Pixel smartphones to car accident detection. “At a very high level, it starts with motion sensors,” she says. But an approach solely focused on lunges could lead to so many false triggers that users would likely find this option more annoying than beneficial. This is where machine learning, a segment of AI focused on pattern recognition, comes into play.
Google developers studied smartphone theft methods used in different parts of the world and staged the thefts to obtain training data. “We reproduce these scenarios. Then we collect the trace of the device,” Guo explains. “We use AI to compile these traces into a model to try to predict the next time a snatch will occur.” For Android owners, this process is carried out using templates built into the device.
The AI model is not static, and developers plan to continue adding new smartphone theft scenarios to the training data as criminals change their behavior. Also, with the global launch With these anti-theft features, they can now learn more about how a diverse group of smartphone owners actually interact with these options.
How can I turn it on?
Go ahead and see if your phone is running a recent version of the Android operating system. Your device must be running at least Android 10 to run these three features, and the latest Android 15 software gives you access to more security options. This is a basic first step, but if you haven’t already done so, also add a password to your device by going to the privacy settings.
Then open the Settings app on your phone and search Theft protection. Opening this tab will display the three lock screen security features. “It’s very common for the cell phone to assume that the person who has access to it is the rightful owner,” Guo explains. By adding more ways to activate the lock screen, users have more protections if their phone is caught while it’s open. When the Theft detection lock is enabled, the screen automatically locks if it detects potential theft, based on movement patterns as well as whether your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth remains connected.
With Offline device lock enabled, your phone will go to the lock screen, up to twice a day, if the internet is suddenly turned off for a period of time or airplane mode is activated. “According to our market research, this is a common attack that they carry out after taking an unlocked device,” says Guo. Why would thieves do this? When a device is offline, it cannot be reset remotely via Find My Device to erase your personal information from the device.
The third lock screen security option available on this page is Remote lock. You’ll need to click on the name to see this toggle, unlike the first two options. The feature is designed to give you a quick and easily accessible choice to lock your phone while visiting android.com/lock on any device and entering your phone number. However, Remote Lock will only work twice a day and will activate when the smartphone is online.
