Today marks the release of Android 15’s second beta.
Having deviated from the norm and devoted the entirety of its keynote address at Google I/O to demonstrating how it is incorporating artificial intelligence into everything imaginable, the firm has decided to devote the second day of the event to catching up with Android, which was once the star of the show. Alongside the release of the second beta version of Android 15 on Wednesday, Google is revealing previously unannounced security measures that will be included in its 2024 mobile platform. These features include protection against fraud on Google Play, theft detection enabled by artificial intelligence, and more.
The Theft Detection Lock feature is a new addition to Android 15 that will make use of artificial intelligence (there it is again) to anticipate thefts of mobile devices and lock them accordingly. According to Google, its algorithms are able to identify motions that are consistent with theft, such as those connected with snatching the phone and fleeing, traveling by bicycle, or driving away. On the off chance that an Android 15 device identifies any of these scenarios, the screen of the phone will immediately lock, making it significantly more difficult for the person who stole your phone to access your data.
You have the ability to swiftly lock your handset with a fallback Remote Lock feature in the event that someone manages to take it without activating the Theft Detection Lock feature. Using Remote Lock, you are able to (you guessed it) lock the screen of your phone remotely from any device. All you need is your phone number and the fulfillment of a “quick security challenge.” In order to prevent instances in which a person loses or has their phone stolen, but does not know the password to their Google account, this feature is designed to prevent access to the Find My Device feature.
From a similar perspective, Offline Device Lock is a feature that, when your phone is disconnected from the internet, locks the screen automatically and requires authentication in order to unlock it. In order to combat thieves who swiftly take a stolen device offline before the owner can lock or delete it remotely, this is designed to prevent them from becoming successful.
An update to the factory reset protection will, in the meantime, demand your credentials in order to access the phone once it has been wiped clean of data. This will reduce the incentives for thieves to take the phone in the first place. Moreover, if you disable Find My Device or increase the screen timeout on your phone, you will be required to provide security authentication. This eliminates a popular strategy that phone snatchers employ in order to reset the device before they are locked out.
When attempting to update account security settings (such as changing the PIN, disabling theft protection, or accessing Passkeys) from a place that is not trusted, Android 15 will also demand additional authentication. This is similar to a feature that Apple introduced earlier this year.