The idea of losing your phone is still as stressful as it was a decade ago. Of course, Google has done a great job with its theft protection features, so even if you can’t recover the device, you can still at least keep your photos, apps, passwords, and other sensitive information safe.
But if there’s one thing that can undo all of those features, it’s your lockscreen PIN or password. If the thief manages to get their hands on it somehow, they can access everything and even change all the security settings. The good news is that Android has a feature that can protect you against this, and it’s called Identity Check.
Identity Check is currently only available on Pixel phones running Android 15 or later, and Samsung phones running One UI 7 or higher. That said, Google is planning to release this feature to more Android devices soon.
Android’s theft protection is only as strong as this one setting
Your lockscreen PIN is the weakest link
Google has stacked Android with enough theft protection features at this point. Theft Detection Lock uses your phone’s sensors to detect the sudden grab-and-run motion of snatch theft, and lock the screen automatically. Offline Device Lock kicks in and locks the phone if someone pulls the SIM or cuts off internet access somehow. Remote Lock lets you lock your phone from any browser. And if it comes to it, Find My Device can remotely wipe everything.
That’s a serious stack of protection, and it’s enough to give you much-needed peace of mind. But all of it is basically pointless if the thief manages to guess your lock screen PIN or pattern. And that’s not as unlikely as it sounds. Shoulder surfing in a crowded place is a technique thieves often use. Once they have your passcode, everything is accessible.
They can disable Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, Failed Authentication Lock, Remote Lock, and even Find My Device. Once these are off, your chances of tracking the device are basically none. The bigger issue is that without Find My Device, you also won’t be able to wipe the device remotely. And it’s not just your photos and files that are at stake here. The thief can also open your built-in password manager and see all the saved passwords, which is a whole lot worse than simply losing your phone. The good news, though, is that Google has a feature called Identity Check that can help you close this vulnerability.
Identity Check is a simple, but brilliant idea
Let your phone know who’s actually using it
Identity Check is actually part of Android’s theft protection features, and it works on a simple idea. Instead of relying on your PIN or pattern, it requires biometric authentication for sensitive things on your phone. This could be your accessing your passkeys, viewing app passwords, changing the lock screen PIN, and even turning off Find My Device. And that’s just the start. Identity Check can also stop the thief from changing USB connection settings, removing Google accounts, and adding recovery phone number or email.
What I like the most about Identity Check is that it only kicks in when your phone is not at a safe place. You can add your home and office as a safe place, so when you’re there, Android doesn’t force you to use biometrics for all these things. The moment you step outside, the stricter rules kick in automatically. The only thing is, you need to keep all the location-related features turned on, which includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning. These basically make it easy for your phone to detect when you’re in a safe place and when you’re not.
Setting it up is also quick and easy. Head to Settings > Security and privacy > Lost device protection > Theft protection > Identity Check and follow the prompts to set it up. You’ll need to add trusted locations manually, which shouldn’t take long.
Google should enable these protections by default
Android’s built-in theft protection features are handy. Still, most of them are off by default, which means it’s up to you to find and enable them. Of course, changing security settings on your phone isn’t the most exciting thing to do and most people barely even think about them because these are things you don’t need until you do.
It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Google simply enabled these features by default. I think it’d go a long way in improving Android’s reputation as a secure platform, and more also, there’s no good reason not to. But yes, until that happens, make sure to enable all of these theft protection features, even if you feel you won’t be needing them.