Google Brings Identity Check Safety Feature To Protect Your Data: Know More

Last Updated:January 28, 2025, 10:24 IST

Google announced the safety features for Android users who can protect their data if their device is lost or stolen.

The new Android safety feature is limited to select brands for now.

Google has rolled out a significant feature, Identity Check, to enhance security for selected Android devices worldwide. This feature aims to prevent situations where someone could get access to your device by unauthorised knowledge of your passcode, PIN, or password. The new update will verify the identity of the user in such a case. When accessing sensitive accounts or device settings, users will be required to authenticate using biometrics such as fingerprints or face recognition.

Notably, the additional layer of protection will only activate when the device is outside of the designated trusted location. This should prevent unauthorised access, even if the person who stole your phone knows the passcode or PIN.

However, it also comes with some loopholes as it will not be much useful in scenarios when someone in your house has unauthorised access to your phone, given that your home is a 'trusted location.'

According to Google, as a part of the feature, the users will have the option to add one or more trusted locations. “When you leave these trusted locations, biometric authentication is necessary to access critical account and device settings such as changing your device PIN or biometrics, disabling theft prevention, or accessing Passkeys," the tech giant wrote in a blog.

The feature is now rolling out to Pixel devices with the latest Android 15 and will be available on One UI 7 eligible Galaxy devices in the coming weeks which includes the new Galaxy S25 models. Moreover, it is likely to be available on supported Android handsets from other manufacturers later this year.

Check Identity Feature: How It Works

– Open Settings on your Pixel/Samsung phone

– Click on the security and privacy option

– Tap on Device Unlock and go to Theft Protection

– Now, click on the Identity Check button

– Click on the designated button to activate the feature.

This new Google update comes as a part of broader efforts to protect user data. Last year the tech giant introduced another significant protection feature, the Theft Detection Lock, which uses an on-device AI-powered system to assist in detecting when your phone may be forcibly taken away from you. If the machine learning system identifies a possible theft attempt on your unlocked cellphone, it locks the screen to keep thieves out.

Delhi, India, India

News tech Google Brings Identity Check Safety Feature To Protect Your Data: Know More