MILLIONS of phone owners are to get a new anti-theft “secret weapon” on their mobile to stop thieves accessing the device after snatching it.
The security feature means Android phones will start to reboot automatically if they haven’t been used for three days.
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This means they will be more difficult to access if they haven’t been used in a while as users have to enter the pin after a reboot.
It comes after a recent survey from the Met Police revealed phones are stolen in London at a rate of one every 7 1⁄2 minutes.
Figures show gangs and crooks took 70,137 mobiles last year — 192 a day.
That is up a third from the 52,000 nicked in 2023, Met Police statistics show.
Another important reason for users and authorities to be aware of the update relates to the two lock states on mobiles – before first lock (BFU) and after first lock (AFU).
In BFU, information and files on a phone are securely encrypted and completely inaccessible, even with complex extraction programmes.
Therefore if cops seize a phone as evidence they will have less time to access the device.
Phone thefts are now a £50million underworld industry, with most flogged or disassembled for parts in China.
People with phones still running Android 12 are advised to consider upgrading to a newer device.
Security patches fix flaws that have been discovered in the software, which stops phones succumbing to hacking.
Home Office figures show 90% of all “theft from a person” crimes in London go unsolved, with a crook charged in only one per cent of cases.
The unsolved figure is 86 per cent in England and Wales.
Due to the rise in phone thefts, the Met is using tracking tech and putting plain-clothed officers in the West End and Westminster, where 40% of all thefts occur.
The City of London force is deploying bike-mounted police.
Anna McEntee, at Compare the Market, said Londoners and those visiting the capital will be concerned by the substantial rise in phone thefts last year.
She added that criminals are becoming “increasingly brazen, often using mopeds or e-bikes to make a quick getaway”.
The new security feature from Google is part of the April 2025 Google System release notes and is expected to apply to tablets but not wearables such as the Pixel Watch, televisions, or Android Auto Devices.
Google hasn’t said if users will be able to toggle this feature or change the time limit for rebooting.
Since this feature is part of Google Play Services, those affected will see it without the phone going through a full system update.
A BFU phone remains connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, meaning that if you lose your phone and it reboots, you’ll still be able to use location-finding services.
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Time to upgrade?
By Millie Turner, Senior Technology & Science Reporter
It’s hard to know when it’s time to upgrade your smartphone – especially when it ‘does the job’ just fine.
Can make phone calls? Yes. Text? Of course. Surf the internet? Yep. Still use my apps? Absolutely.
For some, a no-frills phone is all that’s necessary.
Glossy AI features that can summarise emails and touch up your pictures are not on everyone’s wish list.
Unfortunately, it’s when devices lose security support that they need to be retired.
Once a phonemaker stops fixing software bugs in its handsets, they can become risky to use.
Vulnerabilities will emerge over time that will never be fixed—and this essentially gives hackers free rein to exploit devices and innocent owners.
However, this can only happen if they’re still in use.
