Google to start testing anti-theft AI feature for Android phone from July

Alphabet’s Google said on Tuesday that Brazil will be the first country to test an anti-theft feature for Android phones that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify when a phone has been stolen and lock the device’s screen.

Three types of lock will be available in the initial test phase. In one of them, Google will use AI that it created to help detect signals of “common movement associated with theft” and block the screen.

The second feature allows a user to lock the device’s screen remotely by entering the phone number and completing a security challenge from another device. The last mode involves automatically locking the screen if the device is left without internet access for long periods.