{"id":79622,"date":"2025-06-28T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/?p=79622"},"modified":"2025-07-16T14:24:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:24:51","slug":"samsung-encouraging-users-to-activate-latest-anti-theft-features-to-help-tackle-phone-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/samsung-encouraging-users-activate-latest-anti-theft-features-help-tackle-phone-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Encouraging Users to Activate Latest Anti-Theft Features to Help Tackle Phone Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As incidents of phone theft continue to rise around the world, Samsung is calling on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/mobile\/why-galaxy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy users<\/a> to activate the latest anti-theft features now available on their devices. These updates reflect Samsung\u2019s commitment to delivering smarter, stronger protection \u2013 helping users safeguard their data and stay in control, even in high-risk situations.<\/p>\n<p>Samsung recently started rolling out\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/samsung-one-ui-7-enhances-security-privacy-age-of-ai-giving-users-greater-transparency-choice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One UI 7<\/a>\u00a0with security updates to existing features, including additional theft protection and anti-robbery features. These will now also be available to even more devices, having started with the launch of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/galaxy-s25\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy S25 series<\/a> in February, and now expanding across more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy smartphones<\/a> throughout the year.<\/p>\n<p>Samsung is introducing new\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/samsung-knox-journals-how-galaxy-invisibly-keeps-you-safe-at-all-times\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">security updates<\/a>\u00a0to better protect users in the event of phone theft. One major update is\u00a0<strong>Theft Protection<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 a multi-layered suite of features developed to safeguard personal data, even in high-risk situations such as robbery.<\/p>\n<p>Theft Protection builds on standard Android safeguards, which are effective in typical theft scenarios where the thief doesn\u2019t know the PIN. With One UI 7, Samsung goes further by introducing additional protections that address more advanced or high-risk threat scenarios, including cases where access credentials may have been exposed.<\/p>\n<p>Galaxy users can now enable a range of new security measures, including\u00a0<strong>Identity Check<\/strong>, designed to offer stronger protection in complex theft scenarios. These features respond automatically and intelligently to suspicious activity, helping ensure that personal data remains secure and under the user\u2019s control in these critical moments.<\/p>\n<p>Existing and updated features in\u00a0<strong>Theft Protection<\/strong>\u00a0include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Theft Detection Lock:<\/strong>\u00a0This uses machine learning to detect motions associated with theft such as snatching, and instantly locks the screen to stop unauthorized access.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Offline Device Lock:<\/strong>\u00a0The screen gets automatically locked if the device is disconnected from the network for an extended period, ensuring protection even when the device is offline.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Remote Lock:<\/strong> If the device has already been stolen, users can lock it remotely using their phone number and a quick verification step. Remote Lock also allows users to regain control of their account and explore additional recovery options.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>New\u00a0Anti-Robbery <\/strong><strong>f<\/strong><strong>eatures<\/strong>\u00a0released on One UI 7 include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Identity Check:<\/strong>\u00a0In unfamiliar locations, the \u2018Safe Places\u2019 feature requires biometric authentication for any changes to sensitive security settings, adding an additional layer of protection when a PIN may have been compromised.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Security Delay:<\/strong>\u00a0A key component of Identity Check, it triggers a one-hour waiting period if someone attempts to reset biometric data. This crucial buffer gives users time to lock the stolen phone from a connected device, such as a PC or tablet, before unauthorized access can occur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These updated theft features are now becoming available on previous flagship devices, starting with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/galaxy-s24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy S24 series<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/galaxy-z-fold6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Z Fold6<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/galaxy-z-flip6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Z Flip6<\/a>, Z Fold5, Z Flip 5, S23 and S22 series,\u00a0 with future updates planned for even more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy smartphones<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embedded product-module\">\n\t\t<a id=\"product-module-0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/smartphones\/galaxy-s26-ultra\/buy\/\" title=\"Galaxy S26 Series\" class=\"snr-article_product-image\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/01202144\/2026-Product-Banner-Refresh-1.png\" alt=\"Galaxy S26 Series\">\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Further steps\u00a0to take\u00a0if your\u00a0Samsung Galaxy device is lost or stolen<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h5><strong>How\u00a0to\u00a0remotely lock your Samsung Galaxy device:<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Sign into\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/samsungfind.samsung.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Samsung Find<\/a>\u00a0using your Samsung account<\/li>\n<li>Select\u00a0your phone on the left-hand side of the page, then choose Lost Mode in the device details section<\/li>\n<li>Create a\u00a0PIN\u00a0to unlock your phone if recovered, and enter it twice to confirm<\/li>\n<li>You will have the option to add an emergency contact and a custom message that will display on the locked screen (It\u2019s recommended to skip this step to avoid sharing personal contact details)<\/li>\n<li>When you are ready, select the Lock button and verify your Samsung account to activate Lost mode<\/li>\n<li>If your device is recovered, you can unlock it using the PIN that was created when setting lost mode on your device<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>How to remotely delete data on your Samsung Galaxy device:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/samsungfind.samsung.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Samsung Find<\/a>\u00a0website<\/li>\n<li>Select the phone you want to erase and choose\u00a0Erase Data<\/li>\n<li>Verify your Samsung account credentials<\/li>\n<li>Review the information provided and tap\u00a0Erase\u00a0to confirm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>All the data on your mobile, including Samsung Pay information, will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered<\/li>\n<li>This will also reset your phone, meaning you won\u2019t be able to locate and control it via Samsung Find<\/li>\n<li>Make sure to regularly back up your data to the cloud so you can restore it to a new device if needed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>How to remotely change your Samsung and\/or Google account\u00a0passwords:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>It is recommended to\u00a0change the passwords\u00a0for\u00a0your Samsung and Google accounts\u00a0(or whichever accounts are linked to your device) by signing in through their respective websites<\/li>\n<li>Once changed, you will be\u00a0signed out\u00a0of all connected devices, except the one you\u2019re using<\/li>\n<li>This prevents unauthorized access to account-linked features and protects your personal information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>How\u00a0to\u00a0track your Galaxy device:<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>If your device is turned on and connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, its last known location will appear on a map<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/samsungfind.samsung.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Samsung Find<\/a>\u00a0website<\/li>\n<li>Sign in with the Samsung account associated with your device (or a guardian\u2019s account)<\/li>\n<li>If multiple devices are linked to your account, they will all appear \u2013 select the one you want to locate<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ll see its current or last known location<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Other\u00a0remote\u00a0features\u00a0available:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ring:<\/strong>\u00a0Make your device ring even if it\u2019s set to silent or vibrate<\/li>\n<li><strong>Extend battery life:<\/strong>\u00a0Activate power-saving settings to keep your device on longer and improve the chances of recovery<\/li>\n<li><strong>Track location:<\/strong>\u00a0Enable real-time location tracking and your phone\u2019s location will update every 15 minutes until tracking is stopped<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"embedded recommended recommended-post\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embedded-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-badge\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>Recommended News<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"recommended-card\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/your-privacy-secured-how-galaxy-ai-protects-privacy-samsung-knox-vault\/?r=true&#038;referrer=usnewsroom\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"recommended-news\" aria-label=\"Your Privacy, Secured: How Galaxy AI Protects Privacy with Samsung Knox Vault \u2013 Read more\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/24103326\/knox-galaxy-ai-featured.png\" alt=\"Read more: Your Privacy, Secured: How Galaxy AI Protects Privacy with Samsung Knox Vault\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"details\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"details-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4>Your Privacy, Secured: How Galaxy AI Protects Privacy with Samsung Knox Vault<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Read more<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"article-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"article-body\">\n<h3><strong>Other ways to locate Galaxy\u00a0devices<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h5><strong>Find\u00a0your phone using your Galaxy watch (WearOS 5 or higher):<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Swipe down from the top of your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/watches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galaxy Watch<\/a> to open Quick settings<\/li>\n<li>Tap the\u00a0Find My Phone icon<\/li>\n<li>Tap\u00a0Start\u00a0to begin the search \u2013 your phone\u2019s ringtone will sound<\/li>\n<li>Once found, tap Stop on your watch or the X icon on your phone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Find your Galaxy Watch:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the\u00a0Galaxy Wearable app\u00a0on your phone<\/li>\n<li>Tap\u00a0Find My Watch\u00a0(or\u00a0Find My Band\u00a0\/\u00a0Find My Gear, depending on your device)<\/li>\n<li>If connected via Bluetooth, tap\u00a0Start<\/li>\n<li>Your watch will vibrate and play a sound (depending on model)<\/li>\n<li>Once found, tap the\u00a0X\u00a0icon on your watch or\u00a0Stop\u00a0on your phone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Find your Galaxy Buds:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the\u00a0Galaxy Wearable app\u00a0on your phone or tablet<\/li>\n<li>Tap\u00a0Find My Earbuds<\/li>\n<li>Tap\u00a0Start\u00a0\u2013 your earbuds will begin beeping and gradually increase in volume for three minutes<\/li>\n<li>Once found, tap\u00a0Stop<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Using Google\u2019s Find My Device:<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Google\u2019s Find My Device is built into Android via Google Play Services<\/li>\n<li>You will need a Google account to use it<\/li>\n<li>With this tool, you can set a new password, make your device ring, display a message, lock and wipe your device, and more<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Contact the authorities and your\u00a0mobile\u00a0network provider:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Once taken the steps above, report your lost or stolen device to the police and record a crime incident report<\/li>\n<li>Contact your mobile network provider to freeze your contract and prevent unauthorized usage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For additional device protection, it is recommended to have insurance that covers accidental damage, loss, or theft. Samsung offers a variety of protection plans \u2013 visit\u00a0Samsung.com\u00a0to explore coverage options that best suit your needs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embedded product-module\">\n\t\t<a id=\"product-module-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/galaxy-ai\/\" title=\"Galaxy AI \" class=\"snr-article_product-image\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/28173822\/MX-_Galaxy-AI.png\" alt=\"Galaxy AI \">\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As incidents of phone theft continue to rise around the world, Samsung is calling on Galaxy users to activate the latest anti-theft features now available on their devices. These updates reflect Samsung\u2019s commitment to delivering smarter, stronger protection \u2013 helping users safeguard their data and stay in control, even in high-risk situations. Samsung recently started [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17560,29720,29718,29721],"tags":[25940,40,30452,126,30466],"blue-badge":[],"class_list":["post-79622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-product-mobile-apps-services","category-product-mobile","category-product","category-product-mobile-smartphones","tag-galaxy","tag-mobile","tag-one-ui-7","tag-smartphone","tag-unpacked-2025"],"acf":{"turn_off_retargeting":false},"fimg_mobile_url":"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/27124916\/one-ui-7-now-bar-featured-image-200x200.png","fimg_url":"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/27124916\/one-ui-7-now-bar-featured-image-432x286.png","primary_category":{"term_id":29721,"name":"Smartphones","slug":"product-mobile-smartphones","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":29721,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":29720,"count":401,"filter":"raw","term_link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/category\/product\/product-mobile\/product-mobile-smartphones\/","term_path":"product\/product-mobile\/product-mobile-smartphones"},"badge":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79622"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79980,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79622\/revisions\/79980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79622"},{"taxonomy":"blue-badge","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blue-badge?post=79622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}