Summary
- A teardown of the Pixel Watch companion app has revealed an upcoming feature that will automatically lock a paired phone when it’s out of range.
- This will work in tandem with anti-theft features already available on Android.
- Though there are no specifics available on the feature’s launch date, we expect to hear more about it soon.
The Google Pixel Watch has been in focus the past few days, thanks to a couple of Wear OS 6-related developments that gave us a glimpse of what’s to come, including the arrival of Adaptive Charging for Pixel Watch models. It’s now coming to light that Google may have another change in the works for its smartwatch, specifically focusing on security.
An APK teardown of the Pixel Watch app (version 3.5.0.758720535) by the folks over at Android Authority has revealed a couple of strings within the mountain of code, referencing the app’s ability to automatically lock a paired smartphone when it’s out of range. Here are the strings the site managed to uncover:
string name=”lock_on_disconnect_summary” – Phone will lock when it disconnects from your watch, like when it’s far away
string name=”lock_on_disconnect_title” – Lock phone when left behind
While the publication couldn’t get the lock on disconnect feature to work, Telegram user nailsad_eleos did so partially, revealing a dedicated section within the Pixel Watch app’s Security page called “Lock phone when left behind,” described as a feature that will automatically lock the paired phone when its connection with the watch is lost.
It’s unclear exactly how far away the phone needs to be from the Pixel Watch for this feature to trigger, though we should get more clarity on that front when the feature goes live.
Complementing existing safeguards pretty nicely
Source: nailsad_eleos – Telegram
As you can see in the screenshot above, the name and the description of the feature align with the strings discovered by Android Authority in the Pixel Watch app. As keen observers will note, Android’s Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock already do an excellent job of protecting users in cases of smartphone theft.
This upcoming auto-lock feature in the Pixel Watch app is designed for scenarios where you’ve forgotten your phone somewhere and don’t want it to remain unlocked for long, thus adding another layer of security to your device in those rare circumstances.
Although the strings describing the feature are already present in the Pixel Watch app, along with a full screenshot showing what it looks like, they’re not officially live yet. With this in mind, it’s difficult to predict when the feature will be ready for primetime. However, given its potential importance to Pixel Watch owners, we presume Google won’t wait too long to flip the switch. What do you make of this upcoming security feature?
