Android owners must turn on new life-saving tool that locks their phone if it’s snatched by thieving thugs on mopeds

ANDROID owners must turn on these new life-saving tools to lock their phone if it’s snatched by thieving thugs on mopeds.

With more than 200 smartphones being nicked everyday, the urgency for theft protection features on phones is greater than ever.

Google has announced three new theft protection features will stop thugs accessing your private information fast

Up first, is the Theft Detection Lock, powered by AI.

If it senses a fast change in your phone’s movements, suggesting it’s been grabbed, the device will automatically lock down.

This means that if a thug has run off with your phone, they won’t be able to access your private information.

Next up, is the Offline Device Lock.

If a thug disconnects your phone from the internet, causing it to go “offline”, Android will be able to sense something dodgy could be going on.

Especially, if there have been repeated authorisation failures.

If so, it will automatically lock your phone.

The third and final tool “throws you a lifeline if your phone is already gone”, Google says.

It’s called the Remote Lock.

As the name suggests, if you find yourself away from your phone but you need to lock it fast, this feature could “buy you time”.

To access Remote Lock on any device, just put in your phone number and complete a quick security challenge.

Then you can recover your account details, access Find My Device or wipe your device from afar.

Although Find My Device already lets you lock a lost phone, sometimes people forget their passwords in their state of panic.

All three features will be available to Android 10+ owners through a Google Play services update later this year. 

It comes after the Home Office revealed overall theft rates from a person have increased by more than a third.

In September, The Sun explained how the Government and the Home Office intend to work with tech firms to tackle crime.

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “The Government is determined to do whatever’s necessary to protect people entitled to walk the streets without the threat of robbery.

“Phone companies must ensure any stolen phones can be quickly, easily and permanently disabled, rather than re-registered for sale.”

“If we work together, Government, tech companies and law enforcement can break the business model of the phone thieves and moped gangs who rely on this trade.”