Tyler’s phone was snatched from his hand while he was walking down the street outside the Science Museum in South Kensington. “I was just walking along with my headphones in, phone in my hand, and they just drove past and yanked the phone out of my hand,” he said. He realized his phone was gone when his music disconnected from his headphones.
Having experienced this ordeal, Tyler welcomes new Google AI technology that he believes would have made “a massive difference” to him. The new technology will automatically lock the screen if a phone is snatched, which Google says could help curb thefts. Users need to activate these new features in their phone settings to benefit, as they are disabled by default.
The update to Android devices uses AI and sensors to identify when a thief grabs and flees with a user’s phone, locking the screen to prevent access to stored data. A Remote Lock feature will also lock a lost or stolen device using just the phone number. Google said these new features may help users secure their personal data if they cannot remember their password or other credentials in the moments after a theft.
Tyler added, “I actually think this new technology is quite good because when my phone got stolen, I was unable to actually remote-lock my phone, and I really struggled because I couldn’t remember my password at the time. When I got access to the internet, I couldn’t lock my phone because I didn’t remember my password.
Android’s new anti-theft technology
So with Google’s new initiative, where they only need your mobile number, I think that’s a good way to lock phones.”
Phone snatching is a modern crime wave, with 69% of all thefts in London last year related to mobile phones. New figures show that mobile phone crime is driving the rise in robberies and thefts in the capital, with 33% of all robberies last year involving a phone being stolen – equating to more than 11,800 offenses. The new security update has been welcomed by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who lobbied mobile phone companies last year “to ensure their devices were not appealing to thieves.” Mr.
Khan added that Metropolitan Police were also taking “targeted action with patrols in London’s worst hotspots” to curb the problem. Tech expert Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at Eset, said that the update takes advantage of newer AI technology and sensors to detect suspicious movement to speed up the locking process. He added, “If you find you’ve had your phone stolen, you should immediately contact your phone provider to kill the SIM card as well as attempt to put your phone into lost mode or even attempt to remotely wipe it.
This will stop thieves from generating one-time SMS passcodes to gain fuller access to your accounts. Most thieves will instantly take the device offline, which Android will try to counter with its clever Offline Device Lock feature.”
Tyler hopes this new technology will make people think twice about stealing phones. “Because then the phones are worthless.
And there’s no resale value. And then they’re pretty much wasting their time taking these phones because they end up turning into a brick.”
