Google appears to be widely rolling out new anti-theft features in Android that will “protect your personal data if your device is stolen.” This includes theft detection, offline devices, and remote locking.
The new “Anti-Theft” menu can be accessed from your phone’s Settings app > Google > All Services tab > Personal & device safety (near the bottom). Alternatively, you can search for “stolen” in settings.
If someone suddenly snatches your phone and runs away while you are using it, theft detection lock will start, turn off the display, and require authentication before accessing it again. It leverages device sensors, Wi-Fi, and smart device connectivity.
Similarly, “If someone steals, [your device] Turn off the internet to prevent location tracking. ” offline device lock will be activated.
After my cell phone was stolen, remote lock android.com/lock is now accessible and active. Lock your device by entering a pre-verified phone number and security challenge, which Google believes is faster than signing in to Find My Device.[デバイスを探す]The settings page also provides a link to remote lock.
With both offline devices and remote lock, Google says you can “lock your screen up to twice a day.”
You must enable each function in advance, make sure “phone number authentication” is enabled, and set up remote lock. If you want to turn off the feature, you will be asked for biometric authentication.
After being rolled out to some users late last week, the anti-theft feature is now widely rolling out to Android devices around the world. Pixel and Samsung devices have it, but tablets don’t.
It is powered by Google Play Services and is available for Android 10 and above. Google announced Anti-Theft at I/O 2024 in May and began testing the feature in Brazil in June of this year.
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