New Google Android Feature Can Detect When Someone Is Holding Your Phone: Report

OH SHIT!!

Google has reportedly developed a new feature, called on-body detection, that can keep your smartphone unlocked as long as it remains in your hand or pocket. The moment you set the phone down, however, it will lock again, the Daily Mail reported.

By that logic, though, if you set your phone down and someone else swoops by and picks it up, it would unlock just the same as if you, the actual owner, had picked it up again. A similar scenario would be if you hand you phone to someone else (to let them type in their contact information, for example). In that, the phone would remain unlocked.

Remember: It’s not able to detect who is holding it – just that someone is holding it.

On-body detection works by using accelerometers built into the phones. Google hasn’t confirmed the feature yet but the blog Android Police and several regular users have reported it showing up on their devices.

Android users already have the ability to “face unlock” their phones, a security feature similar to Apple’s TouchID, which lets users program their phones to unlock by using facial recognition software.

Not a fan of allowing technology to recognize your unique facial features or biometric, that’s fine. You can still opt to use the traditional password to unlock your phone. But if you’re an Android user who thinks all this sounds pretty cool but you’re having problems enabling it on your device, just be patient. As Android police reported, the new feature appears to be one Google is rolling out slowly, but surely.

Whenever the feature is available on your device, here are the three screens you’ll need to navigate:

Image source: Google via Android PoliceImage source: Google via Android Police

Image source: Google via Android PoliceImage source: Google via Android Police

Image source: Google via Android PoliceImage source: Google via Android Police

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  1. Interesting.

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