Google starts rolling out new Android identity check security feature.
Google is rolling out security updates left, right and center. From the Google Chrome browser 132.0.6834.110 vulnerability fix for three billion users, the second in a matter of days, through to new security rules due to drop on Feb. 16. A Jan. 23 announcement has now confirmed another new security update, this time impacting Android 15 users, and it’s critical but in a good way. Assuming your smartphone is supported, that is, and currently, the list of such devices is worryingly small. Here’s what you need to know about Identity Check.
Critical New Security Feature Rolls Out—But Only To Select Android Smartphone Users
Google has confirmed that the Android theft protection functionality is being enhanced with a critical new feature. But only if you use the right smartphone, and the list of devices is strikingly small right now.
The security update really is a big deal, albeit for a relatively small number of users. Known as Identity Check, this new feature, Google said, “requires biometric authentication for sensitive resources outside trusted locations.” Regular readers might recall I reported on this in an article last year, although at the time it was only a rumor, albeit with a fair amount of Android 15 Beta code to back it up. Now, that rumor is a fact for some.
Jianing Sandra Guo, Android product manager, and Nataliya Stanetsky, staff program manager, said, “we’re officially launching Identity Check, first on Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices eligible for One UI 7.” Users of Pixel devices running Android 15 will get the update immediately, eligible Samsung Galaxy users with One UI 7 will see it “in the coming weeks.” Everyone else, however, will have to wait until later in 2025, according to the Google announcement.
How To Enable Android Identity Check
Google said that once enabled, Identity Check requires your explicit biometric authentication when outside of trusted locations and attempting to access sensitive resources such as critical account and device settings, changing smartphone PIN or biometrics and accessing passkeys, for example. You must configure at least one such trusted location when setting up Identity Check.
Identity Check requires Theft Protection to be enabled, and you can do this from your Android settings: Google|All services|Theft protection. To turn on the Identity Check protections, however, involves a little more work. To start with, Google said that “only devices that support class 3 biometrics have Identity Check—If the theft protection settings page doesn’t list Identity Check, your device doesn’t support it.” If it does, you are one of the lucky ones and need to do the following:
- From Settings|Google|All services|Theft protection, tap Identity Check.
- Sign in to a Google Account.
- Add a screen lock.
- Add Fingerprint or Face Unlock biometrics.
- Add your trusted places.
- Verify your phone number if you want to be able to more easily recover your Google Account. This step is optional; you’ll be pleased to hear.
Just know that if your device supports it, you should enable this feature as it brings increased security to your Android smartphone that, as Google concluded, makes it “much more difficult for an unauthorized attacker to take over accounts signed in on the device.” So, what are you waiting for? Go check your smartphone now.