The Galaxy S26 just got a quiet security upgrade that could save you if your phone gets stolen
Even Apple didn't nail this feature from the get-go.
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The Galaxy S26 family bets on security. | Image by PhoneArena
Galaxy S26 devices are scoring a new security feature right before their official market release on March 11. If you leave them locked for more than 72 hours, the devices will reboot as a security precaution.
This "Inactivity restart" feature originally rolled out to Pixel devices earlier, but Samsung is now seemingly rolling it out to Galaxy S26 devices that have already made their way to their new owners. Yes, this happens regularly, as preorders often tend to ship way earlier than the phone's standard market launch date, so don't act surprised if many people online are already flaunting their new Galaxies.
Back to the security feature, it will reboot your phone after 72 hours of inactivity with the goal of putting your phone in the so-called BFU (Before First Unlock) mode, which requires a successful PIN or password input to unlock and wouldn't receive any incoming notifications or ring any alarms. Provided that you've enabled SIM lock as well, your phone wouldn't be able to receive any incoming calls or messages either.
But probably the biggest security boon here is the fact that no USB accessory will be able to successfully connect with your device, which could thwart bad actors from accessing your data if your phone gets stolen.
Poll
16 Votes
Would you enable this security feature?
Yes, for sure
81.25%
No, I can't imagine not using my phone for three days
18.75%
This security feature isn't enabled by default, but users can easily enable it by going to Settings > Security and privacy > More security.
Aside from the Galaxy S26, we can logically expect the inactivity reboot feature to roll out to other Galaxies as well. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Galaxy Z Flip 7, for example, have already scored this feature along with their respective February patches. Others will certainly follow.
Apple first offered such a security feature back with iOS 18, where it initially rebooted iPhones after seven days of inactivity, but this was later reduced to the familiar three days.
Never can't be secure enough
It's my honest opinion that you can never be too secure, so such security features are always more than welcome.
My only wishlist: make this feature customizable. Three days is okay, but I'd love to be able to make the duration a day or two so that I have an even greater peace of mind that nobody would be messing with my phone if it happens to be out of reach for a while.
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