What to know about Android's new Theft Protection tool for your lock screen

Late last year, we saw that Google was working to make device IMEI numbers accessible from their lock screens, a measure that could make it easier to recover your phone if it’s lost or stolen. As part of a recent Play Services update, that option is now starting to show up on our phones.

Once this option rolls out to you, your phone’s IMEI — a unique number meant to ID individual hardware units — will show up in your emergency info, which can be accessed from the lock screen without unlocking the device. That makes it easy for anyone who might find your device to confirm it’s yours, but revealing a device’s IMEI can also be a security risk. As we spotted back in July, though, you’re able to opt out.

Because IMEI numbers act as unique identifiers, checking a device’s IMEI is a pretty fool-proof way of verifying its owner. Bad actors could also potentially clone or otherwise misuse your phone’s IMEI, though, so making it accessible without needing to unlock the phone is something of a compromise.

If you want to keep your IMEI hidden, you’ll need to Settings -> Security & Privacy -> Lost Device Protection -> Theft Protection. There, you’ll see a toggle for Device identifier on lock screen. You can switch it off to hide your IMEI from your phone’s emergency info.

Google’s documentation shows that devices running Android 12 or newer will have the option to make IMEIs accessible from the lock screen. This feature was announced with a Play Services update in July, but it’s still rolling out — I’m not seeing it yet on my Pixel 9 Pro running Android 17.