Android This went largely unnoticed during the first keynote at Google I/O 2024, which was all about artificial intelligence. But on the second day of the developer event, the Mountain View residents announced several new features coming to their mobile operating system. In this case, the company focused its attention on security and protection of devices in case of theft. Some of the features mentioned today will be available exclusively in Android 15and others will be available in earlier versions.
A very interesting feature that will appear on Android will be able to determine whether a thief has snatched your mobile phone from your hands. Using artificial intelligence, the operating system will be able to recognize sudden movements associated with a stolen phone and determine if someone is trying to escape with the device, whether running, biking or driving. In this case, your phone will automatically lock the screen to prevent anyone from accessing your data and applications.
Android will do the same when it detects many failed PIN or pattern authentication attempts. And you can implement automatic blocking when you feel that a potential criminal is trying to keep your phone unplugged for a very long time.
But that’s not all, as Google has also announced a new method to remotely lock a mobile phone in case of theft. To do this, users only need to enter android.com/lock, enter your phone number and answer your security question. All these features will be available on devices with Android 10 or higher and will be released later this year.
Additional protection in Android 15
Privacy is something Google emphasized when talking about Android at I/O 2024. Android 15the company made a feature Personal spacewhich we already learned some initial details about last month.
With this option, users will be able to hide sensitive apps in a separate area of your mobile phone and protect their access. To do this, they will not only be able to use the unlocking method with biometric data already configured on the mobile phone, but also set a different PIN code. This tool will also isolate the data and notifications of these apps from the rest of the phone. Private Space can now be tested in the second beta version of Android 15.
Another security feature that will debut in Android 15 will be factory reset protection. The software will not allow you to reboot your mobile phone (which is quite common when trying to resell a stolen device) if the device’s access credentials or associated Google account are unknown.
On the other hand, Mountain View residents have decided to add an extra layer of protection in key features such as deactivating the screen lock or disabling Find My Device. These types of activities will definitely require authentication using a PIN, pattern, or biometrics.
A new option has been added to all this “optimized authentication”. This will require using biometric data to change important security settings of mobile devices or Google account from an unknown location. This will be especially useful if a thief steals the phone after seeing the victim’s PIN. Californians have indicated that this feature will be available in selected devicesalthough it is not specified whether it will be exclusive to Android 15.
Source: Hiper Textual
I’m Ben Stock, a highly experienced and passionate journalist with a career in the news industry spanning more than 10 years. I specialize in writing content for websites, including researching and interviewing sources to produce engaging articles. My current role is as an author at Gadget Onus, where I mainly cover the mobile section.
