Cell phone security in Mexico has long been in question. A theory based on nearly 100 million phones stolen according to several studies. It doesn’t matter if they are iPhone or Android devices. This is why anti-theft functions such as the one implemented by Apple this year or the one added more recently by Google are attracting more and more interest.
Finally One of Android’s best features arrives in Mexico and that iOS already had in some way. This is a theft detection measure that will prevent thieves from accessing our content or using the phone to sell on the second-hand market. In the long term, they believe that stealing a cell phone brings no benefit to the thief.
What Apple offers to protect iPhones against theft
There are several systems to block the iPhone in the event of theft. The best known is the one which allows locate and lock the device with the “Find My iPhone” app, available on other Apple devices and also via the web.
What the Apple firm presented this year is a preventive blocking of certain functions. This function has its origins in the massive practices of certain thieves, who, thanks to social engineering tactics, managed to know the security code of the victim’s iPhone, steal it and instantly access functions such as signing out of Apple ID and changing device passcode. .
By thus dissociating the terminal from the victim’s account, the victim was not able to block it. This is why Apple has implemented the possibility that changing these system settings requires recognition of Face ID and, ultimately, an account password that only the victim should know. This does not prevent theft as such, but helps the victim block access to their data and the device itselfleaving the terminal virtually unusable.
There are also other functions such as the so-called “iPhone self-destruct mode” and which simply consists of activating a setting in the Face ID configuration so that, if it does not recognize our face and our code after ten attempts, the iPhone is completely restored. nor can it be configured as new.
Android doesn’t just copy it, it also improves it
Android 15 is rolling out these weeks with many new features, among which an anti-theft feature very similar to the one implemented by Apple had already been found months ago. In this situation we can resort to the classic “Android iOS copies”, although there are also reverse examples. However, if it is for the common good, any inspiration between platforms is welcome.
The fact is that what Android 15 presented must be deployed by country and although in territories like USA it was already available since the beta versions, it has not yet reached Mexico with the update of the above-mentioned system. Yes, it’s a slightly different function than iOS.
In addition to creating obstacles to cell phone restoration and account switching as happens on iOS, Android as well adds automatic theft detection. That is, if it detects unusual patterns such as moving away from usual locations and trying to unlock the device with the wrong code, etc., it will automatically be locked. And for false positives, unlocking it will be as easy as entering the right code and passwords.
Android still needs to take the next step that Apple has already taken
Apple blocks the implementation of non-original parts (Image: iFixit)
As we said previously, these new theft detection systems are not enough to prevent theft. We can imagine a careful system that would detect a foreign hand and trigger an electric shock that would prevent the thief from taking it. But in the end, it’s more science fiction than reality. In fact, it wouldn’t be very practical.
What is sought, and it is not nothing, is that the thief does not access our data and cannot profit from the theftwhether it’s inexpensive to sell or usable through use as a primary phone. This is why Apple continues to add restrictions such as blocking parts, which means that thanks to iOS 18 parts such as the screen or battery cannot be replaced with others that are not original or authorized, blocking the use of the cell phone if detected and thus preventing the black market of stolen iPhones.
Far from this absurd rivalry that we sometimes have between Apple and Android users, the latter envy this function in the same way that many of us envy these sophisticated theft detection methods that now add Google platform. This is why, more than ever, we welcome the fact that some companies are focusing on others when the objective is also positive. Because in the end all of this, even if it does not prevent theft, invites thieves to think that it is increasingly absurd to steal cell phones.
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