Protect your personal data against theft (original) (raw)

Important: Some of these steps only work on Android 15 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

To minimize the impact of phone theft, protect your data and your device with security features.

Turn on Theft protection

Important:

• Some steps only work on Android 10 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.
• These features aren’t supported on Android Go devices, tablets, and wearables. Support may also vary based on your smartphone device model.
• To turn on these features, set a lock screen on your device. Learn how to set screen lock on an Android device.

To turn on Theft protection features:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services.
3. Under “Personal & device safety,” tap Theft protection.

Tips:

• Some theft protection features on your device may be on by default. For more info, go to your device manufacturer's guide.
• To manage features on a supported Android device, learn how to protect your personal data against theft.

Turn on Theft Detection Lock

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

Important:

• When the device’s screen is locked, Theft Detection Lock isn’t active.
• To limit interruptions during regular device use, Theft Detection Lock may not trigger when:
  • Your device has either a stable Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth connection, or both.
  • 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.
• If your phone locks while you use it, just unlock and continue to use your device. We’ll continue to improve the feature to minimize interruption to normal use.

To turn on Theft Detection lock:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services Theft protection.
3. Turn on Theft Detection Lock.
   • If the setting for “Theft Detection Lock” is grayed out, your device doesn’t support this feature.

Turn on Offline Device Lock

After your device goes offline, Offline Device Lock automatically locks your device screen. For example, if someone steals your phone and turns off the internet, it prevents you from finding it with Find Hub. After a short period of being used offline, your device locks.

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. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services Theft protection.
3. Turn on Offline Device Lock.

Turn on Failed Authentication Lock

If Failed Authentication Lock is on, your device will automatically lock when authentication attempts fail repeatedly.

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services Theft protection.
3. Turn on Failed Authentication Lock.

Turn on & use Remote Lock

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

Important: To use Remote Lock, you must have:

• A screen lock
• An active SIM card on your device
• A device with a verified phone number
• Find Hub turned on
• A device connected to the internet

If your device is offline when you send a lock screen request through Remote Lock, its screen locks automatically once it’s online. After 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 onRemote Lock:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services.
3. Under “Personal & device safety,” tap Theft protection.
4. Tap Remote Lock.
5. 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 it was stolen:

1. Go to android.com/lock.
2. Enter your phone number.
3. Complete the 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 Hub. Learn how to find your Android device.

Add an optional security question for Remote Lock

To make sure that only you can remotely lock your device, you can add a security question to your Remote Lock settings. To set up your security question:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services.
3. Under “Personal & device safety,” tap Theft protection Remote Lock Security question (optional).
4. Verify it’s you either with your:
   • PIN
   • Biometric authentication
5. Select your security question.
6. Enter your security answer.
7. To complete your setup, tap Set.
   • You might need to wait for a few minutes for your security question to update android.com/lock.

Lock your device through android.com/lock

When you go to android.com/lock to lock your device, you’ll be asked to enter your phone number. If you have set up a security question, you’ll be asked for your security answer.

• If you enter the correct security answer, you’ll receive a notification that your device is locked.
• If you enter an incorrect security answer, the remote lock will fail.
• To prevent abuse, you may also need to complete a CAPTCHA to lock your device.

Turn on Identity Check

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

Important:

• Identity Check is available on certain devices. If the "theft protection" settings page doesn’t list Identity Check, your device doesn't support it. Learn how to contact your device manufacturer.
• When you’re outside your designated trusted places, any app that asks to "Verify it's you" will strictly enforce biometric authentication like fingerprint or face and you can’t use a PIN, pattern, or password. Learn how to set up Trusted places on your Android device.

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 screen lock, like PIN, pattern, and password.
• Change biometrics, like Fingerprint or Face Unlock.
• Run a factory reset.
• Turn off Find Hub.
• Turn off any theft protection features.
• Find trusted places.
• Turn off Identity Check.
• Set up a new device with your current device.
• Add or remove a Google Account.
• Access Developer options.
• Access any other Google apps or third-party apps that utilize a biometric prompt for authentication.

Tip: You can continue to use PIN, pattern, or passwords for:

• Private space
• Multi-users mode
• Autofill payments in apps
• 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 unauthorized 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 your device to get your account back.

To turn on Identity Check

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services Theft protection.
3. Tap Identity Check.
4. To activate:
   1. Sign in to a Google Account.
   2. Add a screen lock.
   3. Add biometrics, like Fingerprint or Face Unlock.
   4. Add your trusted places, like Home or Work.
      • To easily recover your Google Account, verify your phone number.
   5. After completion, tap Done.

To turn off Identity Check

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Google All services Theft protection.
3. Tap Identity Check.
4. Turn off Identity Check.
5. Verify your identity.
   • If you’re away from trusted places, you need to verify 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 2-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 to have an internet connection.

Additional theft protection features

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

• Protect sensitive settings: Restricts unauthorized access to sensitive admin processes when you require PIN, password or biometric authentication for actions, like when you turn off Find Hub or extend screen timeout.
• Private space: Hide and organize 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 and are turned on by default.

Use a strong PIN or password

To keep your info safe from unauthorized individuals:

• Use a strong PIN with six or more digits.
• Create a pattern with a complicated sequence.
• Create a unique password to protect your data.

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

Use biometric authentication

With fingerprint or facial recognition, Biometric authentication provides both security and convenience. Devices with biometric recognition make it harder for unauthorized individuals to access your phone and don’t slow down user experience.

Users are strongly encouraged to set up biometrics for authentication. For the specific setup steps, please refer to your device manufacturer for additional information and assistance.

Pin & unpin screens

You can pin a screen to lock your device to only one app, it remains in view until you unpin 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.

Turn on additional security for your apps

Many apps provide additional security when you:

• Add a PIN or password.
• Use biometrics, like fingerprint or 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 & apps

Use Find Hub

Important: Before your device is lost or stolen, make sure you’re signed in to your Google Account and your Location and Find Hub settings are turned on. Learn how to use Find Hub.

If your Android device is 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 Hub 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 Hub app or webpage. If you can’t retrieve it, you can mark it as lost.
• You can erase your device data and factory reset your device.

Backup & restore your data in advance

If you lost your device to theft, you may also lose important data that you can’t replace. To make sure your data is preserved and you can factory reset your device without losing your data, turn on device backup. 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’s 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. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Select About Phone.

Set up a SIM PIN

If your device is lost or stolen, an unauthorized individual can use your SIM card within your device to control your phone number. To prevent your SIM from being used without your authorization, 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. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Security & Privacy More Security Settings.
3. Tap SIM Lock Lock SIM.

Tip: Some carriers have a default PIN, which is available to the public. For stronger protection, it’s recommended to change it.

Hide notification content from the lock screen

Information from notifications in the lock screen can give unauthorized individuals information 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 lock screen:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Tap Security & Privacy More Security Settings Notifications on lock screen.

Related resources

• Set screen lock on an Android device
• Pin and unpin screens
• Sign-in to your applications and websites with passkeys
• Find your Android device
• Back up or restore data on your Android device
• Get Google's strongest account security with the Advanced Protection Program

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