Google is making your Android phone much harder to steal with this new update

Android is launching a major upgrade in its security features that will make your phone a much tougher target for thieves. This upgrade will provide a multi-layered defense system that will protect your information before, during, and after a theft attempt.

Android's smarter and stronger shield

The theft of Android phones has become a form of financial fraud, and Google is launching several features that will bring thieves to a dead stop. These features are mostly available for Android 16 and higher and will provide you with greater control and and stringent barriers for thieves that attempt to breach your privacy.

These are the new Android security features rolling out:

• Expanded Identity Check: This feature will require thieves to provide a fingerprint or face scan when you are not in a "trusted place," and will be available for all apps that use biometrics, such as banking apps and password managers.
• Failed Authentication Lock: This feature was initially available for Android 15, and this upgrade will provide you with a simple toggle in your settings that will allow you to decide exactly when you want your screen to lock after numerous incorrect password attempts.
• Smarter Lockout: To prevent thieves from guessing your PIN, the time you are locked out increases after various incorrect guesses. You don’t have to worry about your kids accidentally locking you out of your phone, as the same incorrect guesses will not be counted against you.
• Enhanced Remote Lock: While you’re already able to lock your phone from anywhere by going to android.com/lock from any browser, a new optional security challenge is being added to make sure only you can activate this feature.

Why this is an important security update

The idea behind this update is to make sure a stolen phone is useless to a thief. With biometric authentication being required for changes, along with an instant lock feature that uses AI to prevent “snatch-and-run” theft, Google is removing the window of opportunity thieves have.

In countries like Brazil, these features are now turned on by default to make sure users are immediately secured as soon as they unbox their new phone and start using it. This is a clear indicator that Google is moving towards a more proactive approach to security, keeping up with (and sometimes outdoing) other platforms.

Boost your security

I believe that the best security is the one you don’t have to think about, and these updates seem to be moving in that direction. As someone who’s helped many friends recover a lost phone, I appreciate the new option to enable Failed Authentication Lock, as well as the new smarter lockout feature. I would definitely recommend enabling these features as soon as they become available on your device.

• Android 17 may come with a security feature you’d be shocked it didn’t already have
• Google has made a huge change to the monthly Android Security Bulletin