You've probably seen the news stories about someone walking along, talking on their phone, when it's suddenly swiped from their hands by a thief on a full-tilt run. Assuming you can quickly access a computer or another device that is signed into your Google account, it's pretty easy to lock the device and track its location, but what happens during that valuable time between the time the phone is swiped and when it's locked? Probably nothing good.
That's why Google invented Android Advanced Protection, a suite of automated tools designed to keep your phone safe no matter whose hands it ends up in. Google began testing this feature with Android 16 beta releases in the Summer of 2025 and released the tools to all Android 16-powered phones early in 2026.
Advanced Protection packs in tons of great features that'll keep you protected every day, from preventing memory bugs and malware, to blocking insecure network connections and websites, and even the aforementioned physical theft prevention. But, if all those things don't matter too much to you, Theft Protection is still one separate feature you'll want to enable ASAP.
What is Android theft protection?
Android theft protection is a component of Google's wider Advanced Protection suite and has deep hooks into Android 16 (and beyond). It was initially a Pixel-exclusive feature, but as with most of these types of features, it made its way to other Android phones before long. The wider Advanced Protection suite covers:
- Device safety: Automatically locks when physical theft is detected, the device goes offline, automatically reboots the phone if it's been sitting unlocked for 3 consecutive days, and blocks USB connections when the phone is locked.
- Apps: Forces Google Play Protect scanning for all installed apps and blocks installation of apps from unknown sources.
- Networks and web: Disables connection to 2G networks (which can be easily spoofed), enables Live Protection for websites, blocks harmful websites and warns against insecure websites, and disables some JavaScript actions to reduce risk.
- Spam protection: Enables spam protection in the Google Phone and Google Messages apps, automatically filters spam calls and messages, and blocks suspicious links in messages.
Advanced Protection and theft detection are available on all phones that use the full Google Services Suite. If you bought an Android phone from all the most common companies — Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Motorola, Honor, Nothing, and most other global models — it should be available for you.
Phones that ship with a limited Google services suite, like the Fairphone 6, aren't eligible even though they're running Android 16 or later. This is because they don't allow trackers and other components of the Google Play suite that are needed for these services to function.
How to enable Android theft protection
Android Theft Protection can be enabled separately from the Advanced Protection suite and is conveniently found in the device lock section of your phone's settings. You'll have to toggle a few options to ensure it's fully working, but it's a quick setup that takes about a minute.
First, you'll want to enable Identity Check, which helps your phone ensure that you are in possession of your phone and not someone else. Each category provides a more secure authentication and should help prevent data theft.
1. Open system settings by tapping the settings icon in your app drawer, or by swiping down on the status bar and tapping the gear icon.
2. Scroll down to and tap Security & privacy.
3. Select Device unlock from the list.
4. Tap on Theft protection.
5. Select Identity check.
6. Click through each of the available sections to complete them.
7. Once all sections are completed, you can tap the toggle next to Use identity check to enable it.
Now that identity check is enabled, you can navigate back to the theft protection section and complete the rest of the steps:
1. Enable both Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock by tapping the toggle next to each entry.
2. Tap on the Remote Lock section.
3. Tap the toggle next to Use remote lock to enable the feature.
4. Navigate back to the theft protection section, then tap on Find & erase your device.
5. When the Find Hub section appears, tap the toggle next to Allow device to be located to enable the feature.
Now that the full theft protection suite is enabled, you can rest assured that your data is safe even if your phone is stolen. In the tragic event of this happening, you can open the Google Find Hub website on any computer, sign in with your Google account, and then select your phone from the list. From there, you can locate your phone, remotely wipe it, and more. Google also makes a dedicated Android app, if that's more convenient.
Upgrading to the full Advanced Protection suite
Theft Protection is a great start to ensuring your phone is secure, but Advanced Protection will provide even greater safety measures for everyday life. The best part is that you don't have to enable a bunch of different settings to get this done. It's a one-and-done setting, and it's quick to find:
1. Open system settings by tapping the settings icon in your app drawer, or by swiping down on the status bar and tapping the gear icon.
2. Scroll down to and tap Security & privacy.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and tap Advanced Protection in the Other settings category.
4. Select the toggle next to Device protection to enable it.
5. When the information dialog appears, tap the Turn On button to enable Advanced Protection.
6. If prompted, tap the restart button to reboot your phone.
The Advanced Protection suite will automatically enable theft protection, if you didn't previously enable it. You actually cannot disable theft protection if the Advanced Protection suite is enabled, ensuring that this key feature can't accidentally be turned off.
What are the downsides?
Bulking up security always has some downside, but most users likely won't notice anything in their daily phone use. When potential theft is detected, the Android OS will automatically lock your phone to help prevent a thief from accessing your data. If it somehow identifies this erroneously, all you have to do is unlock the phone, which likely isn't any different from your normal phone use.
Google intentionally designed the rest of the Android Advanced Protection suite to be a "low-friction" experience, as well, so the other major features of the platform should also be just as transparent as the anti-theft one.
Some users might find Advanced Protection a little too restrictive, but it largely depends on how you use your phone. If you install all your apps from the Google Play Store, you shouldn't run into any software issues at all. If you're someone like me who occasionally sideloads APKs for development testing, or if you have a specific set of sideloaded apps you normally use, Advanced Protection won't let you run them.
There's always a slight possibility that a proactive feature like this could drain your battery a bit more, but I've never seen evidence of this on my devices. All in all, Advanced Protection with anti-theft detection is a great feature that provides you with substantial security upgrades with nearly zero change in your daily smartphone routines.
