Key Takeaways
- Google is gradually rolling out its Theft protection features for Android devices in the US after initially being limited to devices in Brazil.
- However, some users are not seeing all three security features together, suggesting that it’s still not 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 began rolling out in beta to users in Brazil recently, and it now looks like Google is slowly but steadily rolling out these crucial safety features to Android smartphones in the US and elsewhere.
In a Reddit post on Friday, Mishaal Rahman shared that his Xiaomi 14T Pro shows the new Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock features, with no Remote Lock functionality in sight. On the other hand, Rahman notes that some Pixel users in the US are only finding Remote Lock but not the remaining two. This also appears to be the case with at least one non-Pixel user based in Germany.
But 9to5Google reports that all three anti-theft features currently appear on their US-based Pixel phones. However, the devices tested by the site are reportedly on Google Play services beta (v24.40.33), and these additions are yet to appear on the stable version of Play services, although that could change quickly.
How to know if your Android phone has the new Theft protection features
Theft Detection Lock and Remote Lock
Thanks to the handy search box in your smartphone’s Settings app, you can simply search for “theft protection” to check if the trio of anti-theft features are available. Alternatively, you can also navigate to Settings > Google and look for the Theft protection option under Personal & device safety via the All services tab.
Here’s what the three anti-theft features can do:
Theft Detection Lock: Leverages Google’s AI and machine learning models to detect when the phone is forcefully snatched from your hand. Whenever a theft-related motion is detected, the phone is automatically locked, thus rendering it useless.
Offline Device Lock: This feature automatically locks your phone’s screen when “a thief tries to disconnect your phone for prolonged periods of time,” as Google explained in its May blog post. This will work even if your device is offline, as the name indicates.
Remote Lock: There are situations where you know the phone is gone for good. This is where Remote Lock comes in handy as it can let you (remotely) lock the phone’s screen with the help of just your phone number and a security challenge, achieved by heading over to android.com/lock.
All three of these features will work with devices running Android 10 or above, thus covering a sizable portion of the Android market. With no confirmed timeline for the broader rollout of these new Theft protection additions, all we can do right now is wait.