My dad’s phone was recently stolen, and the thieves managed to access it. Now they have all his images, files, phone numbers, etc. I’m looking into ways to prevent this if my phone ever gets stolen.
Is there any security setting or app that would let me wipe my phone as soon as I realize it’s been stolen?
On Android, go here: https://www.google.com/android/find
Bay said:
On Android, go here: https://www.google.com/android/find
Thank you so much!
Bay said:
On Android, go here: https://www.google.com/android/find
Thank you so much!
Remote wipe works if the thief doesn’t outsmart us in some way.
@PixelVoyager2
What do you mean by ‘outsmart’? Like, could they force unlink the theft protection or something?
Binary said:
@PixelVoyager2
What do you mean by ‘outsmart’? Like, could they force unlink the theft protection or something?
The thief might put the phone in a Faraday bag until they can take it somewhere shielded to bypass remote wipe. It’s rare, but thieves using Faraday bags is known. Their main goal is to unlock and resell the phone, not necessarily get the data.
@Arun
They just turn the phone off or put it in airplane mode. The remote wipe needs an internet connection.
pixelpioneer1 said:
@Arun
They just turn the phone off or put it in airplane mode. The remote wipe needs an internet connection.
Newer Android OS has snatch protection, so even if the phone goes offline, it still has some protection. Also, sites like Find My iPhone or Google’s find function don’t require MFA, so be quick to wipe your phone using someone else’s phone.
pixelpioneer1 said:
@Arun
They just turn the phone off or put it in airplane mode. The remote wipe needs an internet connection.
Since Android 15, you can locate devices even if they are offline. I believe Apple will do something similar soon.
@NomadNerd5
That only shows the last known location. It’s impossible to track a phone if it’s turned off.
What kind of phone is it? For Android, you can use Find My Device to remotely lock or wipe it.
I don’t use iPhones, but I’m sure you can do the same through your Apple account.
How did they get into the phone? Didn’t they have a pin or biometrics set up?
@Vincent
For Apple, you can wipe it after 10 wrong password attempts.
Mason said:
@Vincent
For Apple, you can wipe it after 10 wrong password attempts.
You have to have the self-destruct setting enabled for that. It’s not on by default. Without it, you just get the ‘connect to iTunes’ screen.
Mason said:
@Vincent
For Apple, you can wipe it after 10 wrong password attempts.
It’s 15 attempts for Android to wipe itself. I personally turned that off because I use other security methods.
Mason said:
@Vincent
For Apple, you can wipe it after 10 wrong password attempts.
The problem is that they disable the attempt limit and brute force the code or pattern. I use a long password to make it harder, but I’m sure there are other methods.
@Binary
There’s not much you can do to prevent them from accessing your data unless you know the phone is stolen before they start working on it.
If their goal is the data, they will isolate the device first. If they want to steal your data, they can remove the limits and wipe it after.
@HOPE
How can these features be disabled? I thought I was safe with them enabled.
Check out Find My iPhone (Apple) or Find My Device (Android). Both let you wipe your phone remotely as soon as you report it stolen.
Did your dad have a passcode on his phone?
Phone thieves usually just want to sell the device. You can log into your dad’s account (with permission) and sign him out of Google. As for the other files, there’s not much you can do. Hopefully, the thief is trying to sell the phone, not hack it.