New Android Theft Protection Feature Updates: Smarter, Stronger
Posted by Nataliya Stanetsky, Fabricio Ferracioli, Elliot Sisteron, Irene Ang of the Android Security Team Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it's a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft.
Posted by Nataliya Stanetsky, Fabricio Ferracioli, Elliot Sisteron, Irene Ang of the Android Security Team Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it's a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft. That’s why we're committed to providing multi-layered defenses that help protect you before, during, and after a theft attempt. Today, we're announcing a powerful set of theft protection feature updates that build on our existing protections , designed to give you greater peace of mind by making your device a much harder target for criminals. Stronger Authentication Safeguards We've expanded our security to protect you against an even wider range of threats.
Expanding Identity Check to cover more: Early in 2025 , we enabled Identity Check for Android 15+, which requires the user to utilize biometrics when performing certain actions outside of trusted places. Stronger Protection Against Screen Lock Guessing: We’re making it much harder for a thief to guess your PIN, pattern, or password by increasin Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it's a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft. Remote Lock ( android.com/lock ) is a crucial tool that lets you lock your lost or stolen device from any web browser. Keeping our users safe is a top priority, which is why we're working to make theft protection available out-of-the-box for more Android users.
Later in the year, we extended this safeguard to cover all features and apps that use the Android Biometric Prompt. Stronger Protection Against Screen Lock Guessing: We’re making it much harder for a thief to guess your PIN, pattern, or password by increasing the lockout time after failed attempts. We’re always evolving our protections to stay one step ahead of thieves. Keep a lookout for even more Android theft protection updates.
What changed
This feature is now getting a new dedicated enable/disable toggle in settings, giving you more granular control over your device's security.
This means that critical tools that utilize Biometric Prompt, like third-party banking apps and Google Password Manager, now automatically benefit from the additional security of Identity Check.
This update is now available for Android devices running Android 10+.
For new Android devices activated in Brazil, two of our key theft protection features are now enabled by default: This helps ensure new devices have a critical layer of theft protection from day one.
Our ongoing updates help ensure that no matter where you go, you can have greater peace of mind knowing your device and data are protected by Android’s multi-layered defenses.
Who is affected
Expanding Identity Check to cover more: Early in 2025 , we enabled Identity Check for Android 15+, which requires the user to utilize biometrics when performing certain actions outside of trusted places.
Stronger Protection Against Screen Lock Guessing: We’re making it much harder for a thief to guess your PIN, pattern, or password by increasin Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it's a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft.
Remote Lock ( android.com/lock ) is a crucial tool that lets you lock your lost or stolen device from any web browser.
Keeping our users safe is a top priority, which is why we're working to make theft protection available out-of-the-box for more Android users.
How organizations are responding
Later in the year, we extended this safeguard to cover all features and apps that use the Android Biometric Prompt.
Stronger Protection Against Screen Lock Guessing: We’re making it much harder for a thief to guess your PIN, pattern, or password by increasing the lockout time after failed attempts.
We’re always evolving our protections to stay one step ahead of thieves.
Keep a lookout for even more Android theft protection updates.
What to watch next
Watch for revised fixed-version guidance and confirmation that mitigations are holding in affected environments.
What remains unknown
The available reporting does not establish whether the issue is being actively exploited in the wild.
The available reporting does not establish who is behind the activity, if an attacker is involved.