After rolling out Theft Detection with Android 15, Google is putting a heavy focus on it yet again in Android 17. The release will bring improvements to the existing suite of Theft Detection features, including the Mark as Lost feature, giving thieves much less incentive for stealing an Android smartphone.
Android Is Getting an Upgraded Mark as Lost Feature
Google has announced in The Android Show 2026 I/O edition that it is upgrading the Mark as Lost feature on Android. When a user uses the Find Hub to mark their phone as lost, it will now require biometric authentication to unlock the phone or turn off tracking.
Thieves steal smartphones after they've seen you enter your PIN to unlock your phone. They can then use the same PIN later to unlock the phone and turn off tracking. Well, that changes with the upgraded Mark as Lost feature. Besides, marking the lost phone will now also hide the Quick Settings menu and stop the phone from connecting to new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks.
After testing automatic theft protection feature with Android 16 in Brazil, Google is now expanding the same globally. Features like Remote Lock and Theft Detection Lock will now be turned on by default for all new Android 17 devices, as well as phones that are upgraded or factory reset.
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Besides, one of the Android 17 features is that it makes it much harder for thieves to brute-force their way into your phone. The brand has reduced the number of times someone can guess your PIN or Password. If they guess wrong, the phone will make them wait for much longer periods of time between each attempt.
Lastly, to help you get a stolen phone back, phones running Android 12 or higher will now show the phone's unique IMEI number directly on the lock screen. This allows police or mobile carriers to quickly check who the phone belongs to and return it to you. If you do not want your IMEI to show on the lock screen, you can turn this feature off in your settings.
All these new features making their way to Android 17 add to Android's existing, comprehensive list of security and privacy features like improved Live Threat Detection and Advanced Protection Mode. Google says more security features for Google Pixel and Android smartphones are en route, so stay tuned.
