How to turn on 'theft protection' on your Google Pixel

So, your Pixel just got Android 15, and now it has a shiny new theft protection feature. The good news? You can make your phone a little tougher for thieves to mess with. The bad news? You still gotta enable it yourself. But hey, it only takes a couple of minutes—no excuses!

Let’s get right to it.

What does theft protection do?

If someone swipes your phone from your hand, usually it stays just as it is—apps open, messages accessible, and passwords ready for anyone to poke around. Not great, right? That’s where Google’s theft protection comes in.

Once enabled, your Pixel can detect if it’s being stolen (yep, it can tell!) and will lock itself on the spot. Thieves will be left staring at your lock screen, unable to get to your private stuff. There’s also an Offline Device Lock, which kicks in and locks your phone if it goes offline, because, you know, thieves aren’t exactly going to keep your Wi-Fi on for you.

But that’s not all! If your phone gets stolen, you can grab another device and lock it or even erase it using the Find My Device app or by visiting android.com/lock. This part isn’t really exclusive to Android 15 since we had the options earlier too. But it’s just another layer to the new theft protection which is a bonus.

How to turn on theft protection

Here’s the part where you actually do the thing:

1. Open Settings on your Pixel.
2. Scroll down and tap Google.
3. Select All services.
4. Look for Theft protection and tap it.
5. Choose the features you want to enable:
   • Theft Detection Lock – Auto-locks your phone if it thinks it’s being stolen.
     
   • Offline Device Lock – Locks your phone if it disconnects from the internet.
     
6. Want to set up Remote Lock? Tap it, toggle it on, and follow the steps to link a backup phone number.

That’s it! You’re good to go. Think of theft protection like insurance: You hope you never need it, but if you do, you’ll be glad you set it up. And since this feature comes through a Google Play Services update, you don’t even need Android 15 to use it, though bragging rights for having the latest update are always fun.

If your phone starts locking itself when it’s not being stolen (awkward), just head back into settings and turn the feature off. Better to tweak it than to risk smashing your phone in frustration the next time it locks up on a bumpy subway ride.

So, there you have it. Theft protection: simple, effective, and now officially your problem to enable. Go turn it on to keep your phone secure at all times.