by Key Takeaways
- Google is gradually rolling out its anti-theft features to Android devices in the US, after initially limiting them to devices in Brazil.
- However, some users are not seeing all three security features together, indicating that it is still not being widely rolled out.
- These new security additions may also appear if your device is running Google Play Services beta.
While the Android platform offers some level of protection against lost or stolen devices, Google recently upped its game significantly by announcing new theft protection features for Android devices. These features recently rolled out in beta to users in Brazil, and it now appears that Google is slowly but steadily rolling out these crucial security features to Android smartphones in the US and elsewhere.
In a Reddit post on Friday, Mishaal Rahman shared his Xiaomi 14T Pro shows the new Theft detection lock And Offline device lock features, with no Remote locking functionality in sight. On the other hand, Rahman notes that some Pixel users in the US will only find Remote Lock but not the remaining two. This also appears to be the case for at least one non-Pixel user in Germany.
But 9to5Google reports that all three anti-theft features are currently appearing on their US Pixel phones. However, the devices tested by the site are reportedly in Google Play Services beta (v24.40.33), and these additions have yet to appear on the stable version of Play Services, although that could change soon.
How to know if your Android phone has the new anti-theft features
Theft detection lock and remote control lock
Thanks to the handy search box in your smartphone’s Settings app, you can easily search for ‘theft protection’ to check if the trio of anti-theft features are available. Alternatively, you can also navigate to Institutions > Googling and look for the Protection against theft option below Personal and device safety through the All services tab.
Here’s what the three anti-theft features can do:
Theft detection lock: Uses Google’s AI and machine learning models to detect when the phone is forcibly snatched from your hand. When a theft-related motion is detected, the phone will automatically lock, rendering it unusable.
Offline device lock: This feature automatically locks your phone’s screen when “a thief tries to disconnect your phone for an extended period of time,” as Google explained in its May blog post. This works even if your device is offline, as the name implies.
Remote locking: There are situations when you know the phone is gone for good. This is where Remote Lock comes in handy as it allows you to lock the phone screen (remotely) using just your phone number and a security challenge, which you can achieve by going to android.com/lock.
All three of these functions work when the devices are active Android 10 or higher, covering a significant portion of the Android market. With no confirmed timeline for the wider rollout of this new one Protection against theft additions, all we can do now is wait.
