These days theft of devices is common, 250- 300,000 are reported every year in the UK. In an attempt to crack down on these numbers, both Google and Microsoft have agreed to use a new ‘kill-switch’ technology in latest updates to their Smartphones.
The feature’s purpose is a way of making the handset unusable if it’s stolen. The introduction of the feature to the most popular operating systems on earth will ensure a prevalence of the feature and a major decrease in theft will ensue.
Iphones already have a helpful feature named ‘Find My Iphone’ this feature allows the user to locate a lost or stolen phone or at the very least, prevent the thief from accessing your personal data.
The change comes as figures have revealed that theft of smartphones has dropped 24 percent in London since Apple added a similar feature to Iphones six months ago leading to theft of Google and Microsoft phones increasingly significantly.
Another theft-prevention feature for smartphones recently has emerged as the ‘Theftie’ , this is an app which sends a GPS signal and a covert photo of the individual who has stolen your device upon them entering an incorrect passcode, thus allowing you to contact the police and lead them to its location.
The ‘Theftie’ app is the invention by ‘Lookout’, there are other security measures available which vary from device to device. Examples include the emission of a ‘scream’ alarm from your phone, this app is available from: Apple, Samsung, Lookout and Google. Another interesting piece of tech is the signal flare, this sends an email from your device immediately before your battery runs out alerting you of its location.
With technology advancing to protect our devices, you should keep yourselves up to date with the latest features as the smartphones with the least attributes are those most targeted.