Android and Windows to get kill switch option

(Photo: Ivana Vuksa)

Police officials and representatives of smart phone producers think that the implementation of kill switch option on smart phones and tablets would significantly decrease thefts of smart phones worldwide.

Therefore, Google and Microsoft will install kill switch option on their Android and Windows OS smart phones. The option will, when activated, make smart phone completely useless in case of theft and thus make any attempt of theft pointless.

Police has been encouraging for a long time IT companies to participate more seriously in a fight with thieves and one of the suggestions which will now be adopted was the installation of a kill switch option which will solve that big problem. Apple i Samsung, two biggest phone producers already have similar options on their models.

Participation of Google and Microsoft in the action means that now this option is available on all three operational systems on smart phones in the world.

Theft of smart phones became a serious problem worldwide. The American data show the following:

- 3,1 million of mobile devices was stolen during 2013 in USA.

- Every third European citizen lost or somebody stolen a mobile phone in 2013

- South Korea faces the number of mobile phones thefts increase five times in the period 2009-2012

- A million of stolen mobile phone thefts was reported in 2013

In an attempt to stop further criminal actions, USA presented Secure our Smartphones plan. A part of the plan is a request to producers to make the work for thieves harder.

- Activation of kill switch button transforms an attractive, expensive and ready for sale device in a bunch of plastic which would decrease its value- New York public prosecutor says.

Experts claim that Apple’s option, Activation Lock, enables on all iOS 7 devices as of 2013, significantly helped in theft number decrease. As some reports showed in the first five months 2014, the number of stolen iPhones in New York has decreased by 17%. Similar data were recorded in other big centers as well - 24% less thefts in London and 38% in San Francisco during the previous six months since the option was introduced. Apart from that, thefts of other non-Apple smart phones increased.