Following the launch of Theft Protection last year, Google is doubling down on Android security with the release of a new feature called Identity Check. As the name suggests, Identity Check is a security feature that uses some of the phone’s capabilities and other safeguards to establish whether or not the person using the phone is really you.Identity Check will first be available on Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices eligible for One UI 7, but the security feature is expected to land on even more devices in the coming months.
According to Google, When Identity Check is enabled on a phone, it will require “explicit biometric authentication to access certain sensitive resources when you’re outside of trusted locations.”
Identity Check for Android | Image credit: Google
Besides that, the new feature enables enhanced protection for Google Accounts on all supported devices and an additional layer of protection for Samsung Accounts on One UI 7 eligible Galaxy devices.Before enabling Identity Check, users will be required to designate one or more trusted locations. When outside of these trusted locations, biometric authentication will be required to access critical account and device settings, including changing your device PIN or biometrics, disabling theft protection, or accessing Passkeys.
As mentioned earlier, Identity Check is now rolling out to Pixel devices with Android 15 and will be available on One UI 7 eligible Galaxy devices in the coming weeks. Supported Android phones from other manufacturers will only get this security feature later this year.
