Google’s New Android Triple Lock Update Leak—3x The Security Surprise

It appears that Google has dropped a whole new set of security features, a triumvirate of locks, which will make your data much safer in the case of theft: Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock and Remote Lock.

Users of Apple’s iPhone are quick to boast about the added data protection that the device, along with the iOS platform that powers it, brings to the smartphone security party. Google is often seen as the poor relation in this regard when it comes to Android devices, but the reality is that both the smartphone giants do everything they can to ensure that user data is safe and secure. The latest move by Google, as spotted by Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman, someone who is well-respected for leaking Android update news before most others have caught wind of it, involves a triple-lock functional update to Android security. Back in September, I wrote about how Rahman had found evidence in Android’s 15 QPR1 Beta 2 code of an Identity Check is on function that, as I said at the time, would not be invoked “when apps invoke the biometric prompt dialog with a PIN/password/pattern fallback.” What this means is that, if someone were to steal your Android phone, even if the thief knows your unlock PIN code by shoulder surfing you, they wouldn’t be able to access the device without a biometric match. The three new features for Android users now take data protection after theft into new and even more secure territory.

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Android Triple Lock Security Feature Update Starts Rolling Out, Leaker Says

A newly published post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Rahman, suggests that the triple lock security update has started to roll out to users globally. This follows his original posting on the platform from Oct. 05, in which Rahman said one of his Android devices, a Xiaomi 14T Pro, had been upgraded with Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock but not Remote Lock, while others had apparently said they had Remote Lock but not the other two.

Although I have yet to see any of the three features hit my Android smartphones, I am based in the U.K. so there might be some geographical lag going on, here’s how the triple lock functions work from what Rahman has noted so far.

• Theft Detection Lock—this use an AI, machine learning, model in order to determine if someone has “snatched” your smartphone from your hand and then made away with it whether that is on foot, by bike or even in a car. Once that determination is made, Android will use the detection lock feature to lock your device and so block access to the data. Once assumes that the previously mentioned identity check feature would also kick in and stop the device being unlocked by way of a PIN code in these circumstances.
• Offline Device Lock—this will automatically lock your device screen if, having stolen it, someone attempts to keep the smartphone off of the internet for an extended period of time. It has been known for people to put the device in airplane mode and disconnect from the internet so as to prevent it from being blocked remotely.
• Remote Lock—this lets you remotely lock your phone when you can’t sign into the official Find My Device functionality with your password. As long as you know your phone number, you can lock the device.

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You can learn more about the triple lock security feature triumvirate from Google itself. In a May 15 announcement, Android’s vice president of product, growth and trust, Suzanne Frey, said users should look out for the features rather than give any expected release timeline. That time would appear to be now.

“We’re committed to keeping your device and data secure on Android,” Frey said, “we’re constantly developing new protections to help our users around the world.”