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Google is taking a page out of Apple’s playbook by launching a new security feature that makes Android phones automatically restart after a few days of inactivity.
The new auto-restart feature (or auto-reboot, if you want to call it that) was patched into the latest Google Play services update, which was released on Monday. The release notes say that the update forces your Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S25, or other Android phone to restart itself “if locked for [three] consecutive days,” which means you need to enter your PIN code if you want to unlock it after not using it for that period of time. It resembles the Inactivity Reboot feature on iOS 18.1, only iPhones would restart themselves after four days.
When your phone restarts itself after three days of inactivity, it returns to its Before First Unlock (BFU) state, which is what you encounter when you turn on a new phone. In BFU state, your phone encrypts your data and disables all manner of biometric logins — fingerprints and facial recognition — until your PIN code is entered, making it difficult for other people to access sensitive information stored in your phone if it gets stolen.
Android’s auto-restart feature draws parallels to Apple releasing a security update back in February that fixed a flaw allowing hackers to extract data from locked iPhones with a USB drive. Google followed suit with a similar update two weeks later. This feature mostly benefits activists, journalists, and other people who are at risk of government checks and unauthorized surveillance, not necessarily people who have put their phones away as part of a digital detox.
The latest security feature applies to Android phones and tablets, but won’t work for Auto, PC, TV, and WearOS devices. However, when this new feature will roll out and which devices will receive it is currently unknown.
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