After Google’s beta test in Brazil, the starter pack of theft protection features for Android smartphones is now widely available—but you have to choose. Why doesn’t the company automatically add protection to every compatible device? Insights from the Brazil beta test helped developers at the company make this decision. “We learned that users behave very differently in metropolitan areas and in rural areas,” said Jianing Sandra Guo, Android security and privacy product manager at Google. They don’t want to add unnecessary friction to users who aren’t interested in anti-theft software. The three features that Android owners can enable right now are Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, and Remote Lock. Curious about using this protective feature on your Android smartphone? Here’s how to detect using artificial intelligence and the steps to activate the anti-theft feature. How to Detect Android Theft? Because many thefts can be violent or cause sudden movements, Guo asked a representative of Google’s Activity. The recognition team, which is working on a feature similar to that available on the Pixel smartphone for car crash detection. “At a very high level, it starts with motion sensors,” he said. However, an approach that only focuses on sudden movements can lead to so many false triggers, users will find the option more annoying than useful—and that’s where machine learning, the part of AI that focuses on pattern recognition, comes into play. Google developers researched how to steal smartphones used in different parts of the world and play the role of robbers for training data. “We re-enacted the scenario. Then we collected traces of the device,” Guo said. “We use AI to gather these traces into a model to try to predict the next time there’s a fight.” For Android owners, this process is completed using a model on the device. The AI model is not static, and developers plan to continue adding new smartphone theft scenarios to the training data as criminals change their behavior. Also, with the global rollout of this anti-theft feature, they can now learn more about how different groups of smartphone owners actually interact with these options. version of the Android operating system. Your device must be running at least Android 10 to run these three features, and the latest Android 15 software gives you access to more security options. This is a basic first step, but if you haven’t already, add a password to your device by going to your privacy settings. Next, open the Settings app on your phone and look for Theft protection. Opening this tab will reveal three lock screen safety features. “It is very common for cell phones to assume that the person who has access to it is the rightful owner,” Guo said. By adding more ways to activate the lock screen, users have more protection if the phone is grabbed while unlocking. When Theft Detection Lock is turned on, the screen will automatically lock if it detects potential theft, based on movement patterns as well as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth staying connected. With Offline Device Lock enabled, the phone will go to the lock screen, up to twice a day, if the internet is suddenly turned off for a while or airplane mode is activated. “From market research, this is a common attack that takes place after taking an unlocked device,” Guo said. Why would a thief do this? When the device is offline, the device cannot be remotely reset through Find My Device to remove personal information from the device. The third lock screen security option available on this page is Remote Lock. You have to click on the name to see this option, unlike the first two options. The feature is designed to provide a quick and easily accessible option to lock your phone by visiting android.com/lock on any device and entering your phone number. However, Remote Lock can only be used twice a day and is active when the smartphone is online.
