Apple may be planning to steal Android's handy anti-theft trick

Apple already offers several anti-theft protections for iPhones, but it now looks like the company is borrowing one of Android’s smartest security tricks to close a major loophole. While features like Stolen Device Protection and Find My help keep your data safe if you lose your iPhone, they do little to stop someone who snatches the device from your hands while it’s unlocked.

It looks like Apple is working on a very Android-inspired solution. According to a new report from 9to5Mac, the company is working on a feature that could automatically lock an iPhone if it’s snatched from a user’s hands.

According to the report, Apple will use a combination of signals, including accelerometer data, to detect whether an iPhone has been snatched. If the data indicates the phone was snatched, it will automatically lock the iPhone.

If all this sounds familiar, well, it is. This is basically the Theft Detection Lock feature that’s been available on Android devices since Android 15. Theft Detection Lock uses AI and motion sensors to detect when a phone may have been snatched from its owner. If the system notices sudden movements commonly associated with theft, such as someone grabbing the phone and quickly running, biking, or driving away, it automatically locks the device to prevent unauthorized access. The feature can also trigger other protections if the phone goes offline for an extended period or if it detects repeated failed authentication attempts.

Apple is expected to leverage distance data from a paired Apple Watch to further improve the feature’s performance and use the same rules as Stolen Device Protection to determine whether the iPhone is in a familiar place. If the feature detects that the iPhone has been stolen in an unfamiliar place, it will not only lock the phone but also prevent access to settings that Stolen Device Protection usually restricts.

We don’t know when Apple plans to roll out this feature. However, the report states that it’s under active development, so we could see it launch soon.