Turn on these settings to protect your Android phone from theft

For years, Android anti-theft protection was more reactionary than proactive. Users are all too familiar with traditional warnings and protocols, like shielding your phone when entering your PIN, utilizing location services and avoiding easily guessed passwords. Fortunately, anti-theft tools are finally getting better at preventing theft with the help of AI and Google's built-in Theft Protection suite.

If your phone is snatched out of your hand, for instance, new motion-sensing theft detection will quickly lock it down. If a thief kills your connection by pulling your SIM card or switching to Airplane Mode, the Offline Device Lock feature triggers a countdown, locking the screen in short order. These are nifty new features that avoid annoying false positives with usage limitations and active use checks.

Even better, you don't have to dig deep into your device settings to find and activate theft protection measures. As long as your device is running Android 10 or newer, the feature is bundled into Google Play Services. Keep in mind that some entry-level or budget smartphones running Android Go Edition with low RAM, Android tablets and devices lacking the full range of Google Play Services may not have some or all of Google's security suite features.