Google Launches New ‘On-Body’ Unlocking for Android
Google Launches New ‘On-Body’ Unlocking for Android
Google appears to be slowly rolling out a new feature for some Android users that allows the phone to lock itself when it senses that it’s no longer near its owner. Presumably, the feature is designed for the many, many people who play with their phone, put it down on the table in their favorite coffee shop, go to grab their beverage, and find that said phone has been pilfered by an unpleasant person.
While that still means that your smartphone is gone, at least your data is presumably protected by your lock screen for casual thieves. (Ideally, a thief would notice your locked device and not even bother with it to begin with.)
According to screenshots, the new on-body detection mode—as its known—”uses your device’s accelerometer to detect whether your device is still being carried on the body.”
“If your device detects that it’s no longer being held, your device won’t stay unlocked,” reads Google’s note.
That bit is the important part. If you elect to use on-body detection, then you just have to unlock your phone once. So long as you’re carrying it in your hand, or your phone is shifting around in your “pocket or handbag,” then it will remain unlocked. And since it’s just a mere smartphone, and not some crazy futuristic device from your favorite sci-fi movie, it’s not going to be able to tell whether the hand clutching it is yours or someone else’s. That is, if you hold your phone and immediately pass it off to another person (or someone swipes it out of your hand as you’re using it), your smartphone will remain unlocked.
The one bit of confusion so far is just who, exactly, gets to play with Google’s new setting. It appears to be rolling out slowly to various Android users, and we don’t have any official word as to just what you need to be using—a certain smartphone, Android version, or Google Play Services version—in order to gain access to the new feature. So, if you don’t have it yet, don’t freak out; you’ll surely be able to play with the on-body detection mode at some point, we’re just not sure when.
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