- Code in a Google App -Dearing points to an “Inactivity Restart” feature
- This sounds a lot like a security tool available on iPhones
- It’s not active yet but will probably launch as part of Android 16
At the end of last year, Apple added a security feature to iPhones to make it harder for twenty to use stolen phones – and which also caused questions of law enforcement, and now the same feature could come to Android.
The feature is known as “Inactivity Restart” and on iPhone it means that the device automatically restarts after three days of inactivity.
On Android, it could be exactly the same where Android Authority has found a reference to “Inactivity Restart” in a demolition of the Google Play Services app. In addition to sharing a name with Apple’s function, it seems to work the same, with the code string mentioning that this would restart a device if it remains locked for three days.
Blocking Biometry
The reason for doing this is that both iPhones and Androids are safer after a reboot, as biometrics (like facial and fingerprint scanners) are inactive and instead enter your pin or password to unlock the phone.
The assumption – presumably – is that a device that is turned on but has not been unlocked for several days may be in the hands of a thief that has so far failed to unlock it. So if they do not manage within three days, it will suddenly become much harder for them to do it.
This feature is not active on Android yet, and while it is clearly something that Google explores, it is always possible that this is not coming to public release, but there is a good chance that we will see it in Android 16.
More specifically, Android Authority has through its digging that this is probably part of Advanced Protection Mode, which is a more broad security feature that we already know will probably come to Android 16.
In addition to likely to include restarting inactivity, this mode can do things like blocking sideloading, disabling 2G connections and enabling memory labeling extension (MTE) for apps that are a feature that protects against memory security errors.
So it looks like Google could put a big focus on security with its next Android release, and you didn’t have to wait too long to get these features, as Android 16 is expected to land in the second quarter this year – which means sometime between now and late June.
