Having your phone stolen is a nightmare. Not only do you lose the way you do everything from sending emails to checking your bank balance to, you know, making phone calls, but if someone has got hold of your phone when it wasn’t locked, they can theoretically take control of your most secure apps. Google has just announced a key new feature for Pixel phones.
Google Pixel 9 just gained a new travel protection feature.
In the latest regular Pixel Drop, where Google unveils striking new additional features for Pixel phones, there’s something called Identity Check, designed to give peace of mind when you’re on the move, for instance. It is being rolled out now and works on Pixel 6 and later phones.
Google says “When you’re in a new location, Identity Check in beta will require your face or fingerprint authentication before any changes to sensitive settings can be made on your phone.”
It’s part of the suite of theft protection features you can invoke on compatible Pixels, alongside Theft Detection Lock, which locks the screen if the phone realizes that someone has taken your phone and run off with it.
There’s also Offline Device Lock so that when your phone goes offline, it can keep your data safe.
Identity Check on Pixel phones.
The new Identity Check feature is similar to the excellent protection features Apple introduced earlier in the year, designed to prevent someone who has access to your passcode, for instance, from taking over your iPhone, changing your biometric data and then ransacking your digital life.
Here, the Pixel is on its guard when you’re in a place that’s different from your conventional locations.
As Google says, “This gives you extra protection against anyone who might try to take your phone and access your passwords, change your PIN or turn off theft protection features.”
As with the iPhone, these kinds of protections are very useful, though they only work if you activate them, so it’s worth turning them on straight away.
The new Pixel Drop is full of helpful ugprades from new ways to use Google’s Gemini to a frankly adorable addition to Made You Look for the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold with Joy from Inside Out. Made You Look is a feature that, when you’re taking a photo, shows something on the screen to catch your subject’s attention as you shoot.