Google, Microsoft to include ‘kill switches’ in OS

Google and Microsoft plan to include 'kill switches' in their operating systems for mobile phones to give owners the option of 'killing' a handset - rendering it useless - if stolen.

Apple had come out with a similar Activation Lock feature on iPhones running iOS 7 in September last year, which resulted in a 24-per cent drop in iPhone thefts over a six-month period.

The same period saw increased thefts of other mobile devices.

According to Google spokesman Christopher Katsaros, the next version of the Android operating system would include "a factory reset protection solution to help deter smartphone theft".

With the Windows and Android systems incorporating the feature, the vast majority of smartphones would be less desirable to thieves.

The move comes following authorities calling for such steps in a bid to crack down on the massive smartphone theft problem.

US authorities said in a report, one in three Europeans had a mobile device stolen or lost in 2013 while the number stolen in the tates doubled to 3.1million in that year.

"An activated kill switch converts an easy-to-sell, high-value multimedia device into a jumble of plastic and glass, drastically reducing its street value," the report by New York attorney general said.

With the feature, users can remotely deactivate their smartphone from a desktop.

The feature comes in two varieties, 'hard' kill switches (where the stolen device is permanently unusable) or 'soft' (where only 'unauthorised users' are locked out).

It remains to  be seen which varietyGoogle and Microsoft would be using.
 
Smartphone theft has emerged as a growing problem internationally as high-value objects in an eager resale market.