Protect your personal data against theft

Minimise the impact of phone theft by protecting your data and your device with security features.

Important: You're using an older Android version. Some of these steps only work on Android 15 and up. Check your Android version.

Theft protection

Important:

To turn on Theft protection features:

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Google and then All services and then Theft protection.

To manage features on a supported Android device, click here.

Turn on Theft Detection Lock

Theft Detection Lock uses AI, your device's motion sensors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to detect if someone unexpectedly takes your device and runs away. If Theft Detection Lock detects that your device is taken from you, it automatically locks the device's screen to protect its content. For example, if someone grabs your phone out of your hand and runs, cycles or drives away, Theft Detection Lock may activate.

Important:

  • When the device's screen is locked, Theft Detection Lock is not active.
  • To limit interruptions during regular device use, Theft Detection Lock may not trigger when:
    • Your device has either a stable Wi-Fi connection, a Bluetooth connection or both.
    • If there were repeated locks in a short period of time.
  • To protect your sensitive data if your phone is stolen, Theft Detection Lock uses device sensors to identify theft attempts.
  • Certain normal, day-to-day activities may have similar characteristics to a phone that has been abruptly taken. If your phone locks due to normal usage, just unlock and continue to use your device as usual. We will continue to improve the feature to minimise interruption to normal usage.

To turn on Theft Detection Lock:

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Google and then All services and then Theft protection.
  3. Turn on Theft Detection Lock.
    • If the setting for 'Theft Detection Lock' is greyed out, your device doesn't support this feature.

Turn on and use Remote Lock

If your device is lost or stolen, you can use Remote Lock with a verified phone number to quickly lock your screen.

Important: To use Remote Lock, you must have:

  • A screen lock
  • An active SIM card in your device
  • A device with a verified phone number
  • Find My Device turned on
  • Your device online

If your device is offline when you send a lock screen request via Remote Lock, its screen locks automatically once it's online. Once your device's screen is locked remotely, it can only be unlocked locally with your screen lock. The device's screen can be locked remotely twice in a 24-hour period.

To turn on Remote Lock:

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Google and then All services and then Theft protection.
  3. Tap Remote Lock.
  4. Turn on Remote Lock.
    • To complete activation, you need a verified phone number.
    • If your phone number isn't verified:
      1. Tap Verify number.
      2. Turn on Automatically verify phone numbers.

If you lose your phone or suspect that it was stolen:

  1. Go to android.com/lock.
  2. Enter your phone number.
  3. Complete a reCAPTCHA challenge.
  4. Ask for the device to be locked.
    • Shortly after, the phone screen locks.

Tip: To wipe, secure or erase your device data remotely after you lock your device, you must sign in to Find My Device. Learn how to use Find My Device.

Turn on Offline Device Lock

After your device goes offline, Offline Device Lock automatically locks your device screen to protect your data. For example, if someone steals your phone and turns off the Internet to prevent you from finding it with Find My Device, your device locks after a short period of being used offline.

Important:

  • Your phone must be unlocked when it loses Internet connectivity.
  • The screen can be locked twice in a 24-hour period.

To turn on Offline Device Lock:

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Google and then All services and then Theft protection.
  3. Turn on Offline Device Lock.

Turn on Identity Check

To verify your identity, Identity Check requires biometrics and other safeguards. Your identity gets verified when you perform sensitive actions on your device or make changes to your Google Account outside trusted places.

Important: Only devices that support class 3 biometrics have Identity Check. If the 'Theft protection' settings page doesn't list Identity Check, your device doesn't support it.

Sensitive actions that require biometric authentication

Biometric authentication is required to:

  • Access saved passwords and passkeys with Google Password Manager.
  • Autofill passwords in apps from Google Password Manager, except in Chrome.
  • Change your screen lock, such as a PIN, pattern or password.
  • Change biometrics, like Fingerprint or Face Unlock.
  • Run a factory reset.
  • Turn off Find My Device.
  • Turn off any theft protection features.
  • View trusted places.
  • Turn off Identity Check.
  • Set up a new device with your current device.
  • Add or remove a Google Account.
  • Access Developer options.

Tip: You can continue to use PIN, pattern or passwords for private space, Multi-user mode, autofill payments in apps, and password and payments autofill in Chrome.

Google Account protections

To add extra security to Google Accounts, you can use Identity Check. This makes it harder for an unauthorised person to take over any Google Account signed in on this device.

When Identity Check is on, you'll need biometrics to:

  • Change your password from account settings or through 'Forgot password'.
  • Add or change recovery factors on the device.

To turn on Identity Check

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Google and then All services and then Theft protection.
  3. Tap Identity Check.
  4. To activate:
    1. Sign in to a Google Account.
    2. Add a screen lock if you haven't already done so.
    3. Add biometrics, like Fingerprint or Face Unlock.
    4. Add your trusted places, like home or work.
    5. Optional: To recover your Google Account more easily, verify your phone number.
    6. After completion, tap Done.

To turn off Identity Check

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Google and then All services and then Theft protection.
  3. Tap Identity Check.
  4. Turn off Identity Check.
  5. You'll be asked to verify your identity.
    • If you're away from trusted places, you need to verify that it's you with biometrics or a Google Account.
    • If you use a Google Account:
      1. To turn off 'Identity Check', on your device, choose a Google Account.
      2. Confirm the Google Account's password.
        • To find the option to use a Google Account password, tap Try another way.
    • If you turn on two-step verification for your Google Account, you're required to present a second factor after you enter your Google Account password.

Tip: To turn off Identity Check with your Google Account, you need an Internet connection.

Additional theft protection features

To protect your data from thieves and unauthorised access, Android theft protection includes additional built-in features that are designed to protect your data. These include:

  • Failed authentication lock: Locks phone screen after consecutive failed authentication attempts across the device when signing in to apps or operating system functions protected by user logins.
  • Protect sensitive settings: Restricts unauthorised access to sensitive administrative operations by requiring PIN, password or biometric authentication for actions like disabling Find My Device or extending screen timeout.
  • Private space: Hide and organise apps in a separate space. Learn how to hide sensitive apps with private space.

Important:

  • Some of these features work only on Android 15 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.
  • Built-in features like failed authentication lock and protect sensitive settings require a lock screen for added security. These features are on by default.
Use a strong PIN or password

To ensure that unauthorised individuals won't have easy access to your data and information, use a strong PIN with six or more digits, a pattern with a complicated sequence, or a password that you don't use on other websites or applications.

Even if you use biometrics, you'll still want a strong password in case an unauthorised individual tries to override your biometric protections. Learn how to set screen lock on an Android device.

Use biometric authentication

Biometric authentication, like fingerprint or facial recognition, provides both security and convenience. Biometric recognition makes it harder for unauthorised individuals to access your phone while not impeding user experience. Users are strongly encouraged to set up biometrics for authentication. For the specific setup steps, and for additional information and assistance, please refer to your device manufacturer.

Pin and unpin screens

This can be useful when you're sharing a device with someone who you don't fully trust, or you're in a public place. You can pin a screen to lock your device to only one app. The screen will remain in view until you unpin it with your PIN, pattern or password.

When you pin a screen, you can use the device but only for a selected app. Learn how to pin and unpin screens.

Enable additional security for your apps

Many apps provide additional security when you:

  • Add a PIN or password.
  • Use biometrics (fingerprint, face recognition).
  • Use two-step verification to unlock your device.

For apps with sensitive or important information, like finance, payment or social apps, search for additional security options to add under the security or privacy settings.

Use passkeys to log in to websites and apps

For websites that support them, passkeys are a secure way to sign in without a password. Learn how to sign in to your applications and websites with passkeys.

Use Find My Device

If your Android device has been stolen or you're not sure if it's been taken, you can find, secure or erase its data remotely. If you've added a Google Account to your device, Find My Device is automatically turned on.

  • You can lock the screen and log yourself out of your Google Accounts on the device.
  • You can view the location of your device using the Find My Device app or web page. If you're unable to retrieve it, you can mark it as lost.
  • You can erase your device data and factory reset your device.

Before your device is lost or stolen, make sure that you're signed in to your Google Account and ensure that your location setting is on and Find My Device is enabled. Learn how to use Find My Device.

Back up and restore your data pre-emptively

If you lose your device to theft, you may also lose important data that you can't replace. To protect against this, you should enable device backup to ensure that your data is preserved and you can factory reset your device without losing your data. Learn how to back up and restore data on your Android device.

Find your phone's IMEI number

Your phone has a unique serial number, and a unique IMEI number assigned by a mobile network operator. This can be helpful for your mobile network operator to find your phone or pause services in case it is missing. If you report a stolen phone, law enforcement may also ask for your serial number and IMEI number. Learn how to find your phone's IMEI number.

To find your IMEI number:

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Select About phone.
Set up a SIM PIN

If your device is lost or stolen, an unauthorised individual can use the SIM card in your device to control your phone number. To prevent your SIM from being used without your authorisation, protect your device SIM with a PIN.

You'll be asked for your SIM PIN whenever you turn on your device or the SIM is inserted into a different device.

To set up a SIM PIN:

  1. On your Android device, tap Settings and then Security and privacy and then More security settings.
  2. Tap SIM lock and then Lock SIM.

Tip: Some operators have a default PIN, which is available to the public. For stronger protection, it's recommended that you change it.

Hide notification content from the lock screen

Information from notifications in the lock screen might give unauthorised individuals information that they can use to access your data. To prevent this, you can control what notification content is shown on the lock screen. Learn how to control notifications on Android

To hide notifications on the lock screen:

  1. On your device, tap Settings and then Security and privacy and then More security settings.
  2. Tap Notifications on lock screen.

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