Apple iPhone 'kill switch' cuts thefts – and Microsoft and Google are to follow

'Activation lock' introduced with iOS 7 has cut thefts- prompting similar version from Samsung and moves by Microsoft and Google to follow suit

Apple's introduction of a "kill switch" in its iPhone software last September has cut thefts of the phones across the board, according to data from London, New York and San Francisco – while those of other smartphones have continued to rise.


Now Google and Microsoft are working on similar implementations for their future software to deter thieves from stealing and reselling wiped smartphones.


Thefts of iPhones in London fell by 24% in the first five months of 2014 compared to 2013, while in San Francisco they fell by 38%, and in New York by 19%, according to data collected by the IDG news service, following the introduction of the kill switch – officially called "activation lock" – feature in the iOS 7 mobile software which lets owners remotely wipe and lock their phones if they are stolen.


An iPhone that has been remotely wiped requires the owner's name and password to reactivate it, or else remains encrypted and blocks further use. Apple data suggests that about 89% of iPhones and iPads are now using iOS 7.


The fall in thefts came even as the number of iPhones in circulation kept rising, as measured by the research companies Kantar and ComScore. In 2013, New York set up a special police unit to deal with iPhone thefts - and in June 2013 deputy police commissioner Paul Browne complained that the overall crime rate in the city had risen by 3%, but would have fallen without iPhone thefts.


But thefts of Samsung devices, which don't have the same locking option, rose by more than 40% in New York, IDG found. In April, the south Korean company introduced a feature called Reactivation Lock for its top-end phones such as the Galaxy S5. It requires users to set up an account with Samsung, rather than using the Google account through which owners initially activate their phones. It has to be activated separately, rather than being part of the default setup of the phone, as with iOS 7's Activation Lock.


Now lawmakers are pressuring Google and Microsoft to introduce similar functionality into their devices so that owners of those devices have similar protection.


Microsoft says in a blog post from 19 June that it is working with an industry body, the CTIA, to extend the "Find My Phone" features in Windows Phone to include the ability to remotely wipe and lock, and prevent reactivation without a username and password. But Microsoft offered no timescale beyond confirming that it will do this "before the CTIA goal of July 2015".


Google has also indicated that it will include a similar "kill switch" in a future version of its Android mobile operating software. But it's unclear how quickly that would be taken up, because the huge number of Android devices in use, and the slow pace of software updates from handset makers, means that a minority of users are on the latest version: according to Google's own data, 13.6% of users are on the latest "KitKat" version, released in October 2013; by contrast 58.4% are on versions released between July 2012 and July 2013, and another 28% on versions dating back as far as May 2010.


Google released a downloadable app, Android Device Manager, in August 2013 to help Android owners locate and wipe lost phones, but it is optional rather than built into the operating system, and doesn't lock the phone against future use.


Experts still want firmer kill switches to be introduced that permanently disable smartphones. Those used at the moment by Apple on Samsung rely on a signal being sent to the phone to lock it, or a password to keep out unwanted users, and experts have warned that turning a phone off or placing it in airline mode can block signal from reaching it.


According to the most recent report into smartphone theft in the UK, more than 800,00 devices are stolen each year.

- theguardian.com