Google and Microsoft have apparently signed an agreement with the New York Attorney General to introduce kill-switch-like features in their mobile devices. The feature will bring in peace of mind for users of both the Operating Systems, allowing them to erase and render the handsets useless to thieves once the feature is activated.
While Google already has an Android Device Manager app on its Play Store which can pinpoint and erase you mobile device from a PC or web browser, the company will need to work on a feature which will render the phone useless once stolen. Google is already working on the same and may demo the new functionality at the upcoming Google I/O event.
The same goes for Windows Phone with its 'Find My Phone' security features which allows one to locate, lock and erase a device as long as the service has been activated. Obviously Microsoft clearly has a lot more to work to do here. The company is apparently working on a software update that will allow users to remote lock and wipe devices even without the need to log into a Microsoft account. Moreover the thief will not be able to use the phone for anything other than dialling 911. Users will even be able to restore their data once their phone has been recovered.
The objective behind such advanced features and the reason behind signing the agreement sees a double benefit for mobile phone users. This is because the new features will not only give peace of mind to the users if they lose their phones, but will also reduce the occurrences of theft, protecting the user as well.
