Losing your phone to theft can be a very stressful experience. Thankfully, Google recently introduced a trio of anti-theft upgrades to its mobile operating system for handsets running Android 16 and newer, allowing you to better secure your device and the information on it.
If you’ve recently bought one of the best Android phons, or want to check your current device is protected as best it can be, you need to have Android’s anti-theft features enabled. Go through this article and know how to turn on anti-theft protection features on Android and secure your phone.
What is Anti-theft Protection?
Android offers to protect your devices and data from unauthorized access in the event of theft with its anti-theft protection feature. Android’s anti-theft protection is a set of security features designed to lock your device, protect your personal data, and prevent thieves from using or selling your phone. It acts proactively to detect suspicious activity, locks the phone offline, and requires your account details to reset the device.
How to Set Up Anti-theft Protection on Android?
1. Set up a Security PIN, Pattern or Password
Without any security pin or password, anyone can just pick up your phone and gain access. If someone steals your phone, they’ll be able to factory reset it, or access all your sensitive apps, while you are powerless to stop them. The first line of defence for keeping thieves out is, when you set up a new Android phone, you’ll be prompted to enter a lock screen pin, pattern, or password. Often there will be a biometric complement to go with it, either a fingerprint or face scan. If you didn’t set up a pin, pattern or password during setup your Android phone, then you can do this by going to the Settings of your Android phone.
- Open your device’s Settings app (the gear icon).
- Scroll down and tap Security & privacy or Lock screen (this setting varies by phone brand like Samsung or Google Pixel).
- Tap on Device unlock or Screen lock.
- Select the type of lock you want such as PIN or Password:
- Type your new PIN or password and select Next.
- Re-enter the code to confirm it and tap Confirm or Done.
2. Set up Biometric (Optional)
If your Android device also offers biometric security, then there will be an option to set this up as well, but to set up a biometric you’ll need to have a pin, pattern, or password already set up. Because whenever you restart your phone, or power it off, upon restart you’ll have to enter your pin, pattern or password. Biometric unlock only becomes available after a restart once you’ve entered the former security requirement. So, try something you can remember, because if you forget it, you’ll be locked out of your phone. You just have to follow the on-screen prompts during the setup.
3. Set up Identity Check
Android phone also have a dedicated Theft protection section in the Settings app. Identity Check requires you to authenticate with biometrics. This includes signing into your Google account, adding a screen lock and biometrics, and setting trusted places such as home or work, which will force biometric checks when your device is being used outside or away from safe locations like your home or office.
Identity Check you can access by going to Settings of your Android phone.
- Open your phone’s Settings app.Tap Google, then All services, and select Theft protection.
If you have a Samsung device then you will need to look under ‘Lost device protection’ on the ‘Security and privacy’ page to find this setting. - Tap Identity Check and sign in to your Google Account.
- Follow the prompts to add a Screen Lock, set up Biometrics (Fingerprint or Face Unlock), and add Trusted places.
- Turn on the Use Identity Check toggle and tap Done.
4. Enable Auto-lock Protections
Auto-lock protections is also a part of Android’s anti-theft settings, which can automatically lock your phone in certain scenarios. Enable Theft Detection Lock setting and it will automatically lock your phone if it detects someone has snatched it from your hand and run away.
Offline Device Lock: It will lock your phone if it loses a web connection. Thieves will look to take a stolen device offline in an attempt to prevent tracking, and having this enabled will lock them out of your Android phone. And if someone has gained access to your phone, having ‘Failed authentication lock’ enabled will see the device lock if repeated incorrect authentication attempts are made in apps or Settings.
On some Android phones, such as on OnePlus and Oppo handsets, there’s an additional SIM lock setting that locks the phone if it detects the SIM card has been removed.
5. Use Google’s Find Hub
Just like Apple’s ‘Find My’ service, Google’s Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) is a service to locate lost devices, track tracker tags, and share locations with family. This app allows you to keep track of your devices and perform remote actions if required. That works across all Android devices, including tablets, earbuds, wearables and more. You can access it through the mobile app or directly via the web.
- You can download this app from Google Play Store and installed it to your device.
- Once set up on your Android phone, you can access Find Hub from an internet browser or via the app on another phone that’s signed into your Google account.
- If you’ve misplaced your phone at home, you can use Find Hub to force it to play a sound, so you can dig it out of a sofa cushion.
- If you’ve genuinely lost your phone, you can mark it as lost through Find Hub, which locks the device, signs you out of your Google account and removes payment cards from Google Wallet.
- You will also receive a notification if the phone is located in the Find Hub network, so you can see where it is.
- And if your phone has disappeared altogether, you can also tap the gear icon and trigger a remote factory reset of the device from Find Hub, which can wipe the entire contents of the phone when it’s online.
While all these above settings won’t prevent your Android phone from being stolen, they do provide greater peace of mind if the worst were to happen. If you are an Android user, then you should check all of these settings every time you get a new phone, to ensure they’re enabled and the handset is connected to the Find Hub network, which makes it easier to lock down and track your stolen phone.
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