On-Body Detection Smart Lock Feature Rolling Out To Some Android Users

Let’s say you leave your phone on the table while you go to the bathroom or attend to something else. If your phone is unlocked then, anyone could basically take your phone and scroll through its contents easily. If it was locked and you had some kind of password system attached to it, it would make it a lot harder for the thief.

Now sometimes we’re forgetful and forget to lock our phones before we leave, which is why Google appears to be introducing a new security feature called on-body detection. Basically this feature will rely on the phone’s accelerometer to detect when the phone might be in your hand or in your pocket. If it does, then the phone will remain unlocked (unless you’ve locked it manually).

However when it detects that it isn’t moving, say for instance when it is lying flat on the table, the phone will then lock itself. The feature has yet to see a widespread rollout but Android Police is reporting that more users are starting to see it. It also appears to be a feature for Android 5.0 and above, so if you’re still running on older Android builds you’d be out of luck.

We’re not sure how useful such a feature would be since it wouldn’t take much for you to just press the lock button when your phone isn’t in use, but like we said for those who are forgetful or who rely too much on the screen timeout, then perhaps this might come in handy. Any of our readers see this feature activated on their Android device yet?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android