Android enhances theft protection with Identity Check and expanded features
Today, people around the world rely on their mobile devices to help them stay connected with friends and family, manage finances, keep track of healthcare information and more – all from their fingertips. But a stolen device in the wrong hands can expose sensitive data, leaving you vulnerable to identity theft, financial fraud and privacy breaches.
This is why we recently launched Android theft protection, a comprehensive suite of features designed to protect you and your data at every stage – before, during, and after device theft. As part of our commitment to help you stay safe on Android, we’re expanding and enhancing these features to deliver even more robust protection to more users around the world.
Identity Check rolling out to Pixel and Samsung One UI 7 devices
We’re officially launching Identity Check, first on Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices eligible for One UI 71, to provide better protection for your critical account and device settings. When you turn on Identity Check, your device will require explicit biometric authentication to access certain sensitive resources when you’re outside of trusted locations. Identity Check also enables enhanced protection for Google Accounts on all supported devices and additional security for Samsung Accounts on One UI 7 eligible Galaxy devices, making it much more difficult for an unauthorized attacker to take over accounts signed in on the device.
As part of enabling Identity Check, you can designate one or more trusted locations. When you’re outside of these trusted places, biometric authentication will be required to access critical account and device settings, like changing your device PIN or biometrics, disabling theft protection, or accessing Passkeys.
Identity Check gives you more peace of mind that your most sensitive device assets are protected against unauthorized access, even if a thief or bad actor manages to learn your device PIN.
Identity Check is rolling out now to Pixel devices with Android 15 and will be available on One UI 7 eligible Galaxy devices in the coming weeks. It will roll out to supported Android devices from other manufacturers later this year.
Theft Detection Lock: expanding AI-powered protection to more users
One of the top theft protection features introduced last year was Theft Detection Lock, which uses an on-device AI-powered algorithm to help detect when your phone may be forcibly taken from you. If the machine learning algorithm detects a potential theft attempt on your unlocked device, it locks your screen to keep thieves out.
Theft Detection Lock is now fully rolled out to Android 10+ phones2 around the world.
Protecting your Android device from theft
We're collaborating with the GSMA and industry experts to combat mobile device theft by sharing information, tools and prevention techniques. Stay tuned for an upcoming GSMA white paper, developed in partnership with the mobile industry, with more information on protecting yourself and your organization from device theft.
With the addition of Identity Check and the ongoing enhancements to our existing features, Android offers a robust and comprehensive set of tools to protect your devices and your data from theft. We’re dedicated to providing you with peace of mind, knowing your personal information is safe and secure.
You can turn on the new Android theft features by clicking here on a supported Android device. Learn more about our theft protection features by visiting our help center.
