How To Protect Your Smartphone From Phone Theft

Safeguarding your mobile device from online threats is essential; however, the same precautions may not suffice if your phone is stolen. To ensure comprehensive protection for your device, it is crucial to implement security measures against theft with the same diligence as you do against cyber attacks and fraud.

The initial action to secure your phone from theft involves activating the anti-theft functionalities integrated into the operating system. Begin by turning on the Find Hub and Find My tracking features on Android and iOS devices, respectively.

Android 16 (released in 2025) offers an extensive Advanced Protection suite that encompasses various layers of security designed to safeguard your phone in the event of theft. This suite also features a Theft Detection Lock that automatically secures your device if it senses that it has been forcibly taken from your possession.

 

You also get an Offline Device Lock feature that automatically locks your phone when it's offline. Finally, the Inactivity reboot feature restarts your phone if it remains locked for three days in a row, locking it again in case a thief got past the lock screen.

iOS has Stolen Device Protection, which hardens security measures and adds an hour-long security delay when sensitive system settings are changed. This gives you extra time to lock your phone remotely in case of theft. 

Start Using an eSIM 

Although utilizing an eSIM does not inherently safeguard your device against theft, it complicates the process for criminals attempting to misuse or resell your device. Unlike traditional SIM cards, eSIMs cannot be easily removed, which prevents thieves from quickly activating your phone on a different network, and additionally facilitates tracking your phone through cell triangulation.

While eSIMs are susceptible to hacking, executing such an attack necessitates advanced technical expertise. This significantly diminishes the motivation for thieves to steal mobile phones, as these devices can be remotely locked and made inoperable at any time. 

Enable Biometric Locks on Sensitive Apps 

Securing your sensitive applications with biometric locks effectively prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing your information, even if they manage to circumvent the lock screen. iOS provides a native feature that allows users to secure apps using Face ID or Touch ID, while nearly all sensitive applications on Android, including those utilized by banking institutions, mandate the use of biometric locks as a standard practice.

To lock applications on iOS, simply press and hold an app icon located on your home screen, app library, or within Spotlight search, and then choose the option to Require Face ID. Although Android does not include a built-in feature for locking the entire device with a biometric lock, users can secure any application within Android's Private space, which necessitates biometric verification prior to accessing any app. Furthermore, these applications are typically concealed from the standard app drawer, making it challenging for a thief to locate sensitive applications in the first instance. 

Enable Any Tracking Features 

Apple's Find My network is extensive, with millions of devices globally communicating their locations on a map. Additionally, you can designate your iPhone as lost on iCloud to assist in locating it through Apple's Find My network.

These functionalities secure your phone, ensuring that even if a thief possesses your passcode, they will remain locked out of your device, as it necessitates Face ID or Touch ID for operation. In certain situations, you can even track your iPhone when it is offline.

Google is also diligently enhancing its own tracking network, and the Find My app is set to improve significantly with forthcoming Android updates. According to How-To Geek, in 2025, the Moto Tag, which serves as the Android equivalent of the AirTag, will incorporate ultra-wideband support for more precise tracking, and this capability is anticipated to be rolled out to additional Android trackers in the future.

More sophisticated tracking features necessitate specific hardware. If you are utilizing a budget or mid-range Android device, it is likely that you will not have access to these features. Nevertheless, the Find Hub (previously known as Find My Device) remains functional even when your phone is powered off, ensuring that there is always hope. 

Enable Factory Reset Protections 

Android includes Factory Reset Protection, which renders your device nearly inoperable if it is stolen. When a factory reset is performed through the recovery menu or via the Find Hub, Android automatically engages these protective measures. This process necessitates the entry of the last PIN, password, pattern, or logging into the most recent Google account linked to the device to confirm ownership.

If this information is not supplied, the device will not progress beyond the initial setup phase, effectively making it inoperative. Google is enhancing this feature in Android 16 by requiring the device to undergo an additional reset, which simultaneously limits all functionalities if a factory reset is executed without proper authorization.

Consequently, all your security configurations, including Find Hub tracking preferences, will remain intact despite any attempts at a factory reset. This facilitates the recovery of your lost device while also preventing the thief from reselling it in the second-hand market. 

Keep Your Phone Updated 

This is an obvious one, but the best way of ensuring you've got all the latest security and privacy protections is to keep your phone updated. Both Google and Apple constantly release features that protect your phone against online attacks and theft, and updating your phone as soon as those updates land ensures you've got the latest features. 

These features can often be the difference between a lost and a recovered phone. Even if they explicitly don't add theft protection features, they still protect your phone against the latest exploits and hacks that a thief can use to break through existing features and unlock your phone. That protection shouldn't be taken for granted.