The Google announced Identity Check, a feature in Android 15 that uses biometrics to protect important areas of your phone. It is activated if someone accesses your smartphone outside of trusted locations. This way, your data is protected even if your phone is stolen, and thieves know the PIN that locks your screen.
The search giant detailed the identity verification in a blog post. It revealed that Pixel smartphones and Samsung phones running One UI 7 will be the first to get it. Since One UI 7 will initially only be available on the new Galaxy S25, it will have to wait a while for it to activate on more devices.
Identity verification will be optional, so users will have to enable it in the Theft Protection menu of their smartphone with Android 15. After enabling this option, it will require biometric authentication to “access certain sensitive resources when outside of trusted locations”.
Google says Identity Verification will provide improved protection for device settings and the Google Accounts you use on supported devices. It will also bring “additional security” to Samsung accounts. An attacker would have a harder time taking control of these accounts, which could protect all types of data.
Identity Verification will require biometric authentication when you or someone else tries to access these accounts or settings from an unknown location. However, you can set trusted locations in the app so that biometrics aren’t required at home, work, and other places where you spend a lot of time.
Once enabled, Identity Check will make it impossible for thieves to do things like change your phone’s PIN, disable biometrics, and disable theft protection. In addition to your Google and Samsung accounts, your passcodes will also be protected. Theft Detection Lock, which uses on-device AI algorithms to determine whether a phone may have been forcibly stolen, now works on more devices. You’ll need Android 10 or later to enable the feature.
