Android users should double check their pincodes thanks to Google's new update for the mobile operating system. The new v25.14 release of Google Play Services includes a security update forcing phones to reboot after three days of inactivity. This will trigger the standard boot up procedure for an Android device, which includes requiring the users pin before allowing full functionality.
The update has gained attention among tech sites across the web, including The Verge, ArsTechnica, TechCrunch, and of course us here at PC Gamer. All this press tends to make little updates like this feel a whole lot scarier than they need to. But, don't worry, all you need to do to prepare for this one is make sure you know what pin you set for your device. It's probably a good idea to check in on any tech-challenged relatives and friends to make sure they do the same. You might save yourself a few hours of pain in the future for the hassle.
Rather than be something to fear, this security update is actually a pretty friendly and helpful one, and most are unlikely to ever see it in action. If you can remember the last time your phone was inactive for three whole days, I salute you. For most folks, it's pretty likely that this kind of inactivity indicates a lost or stolen device.
Forcing a restart means the phone will enter a semi-functional state that keeps a bunch of data encrypted and inaccessible until that pin is entered. This makes it that little bit harder for bad actors to get into your precious data like social media accounts, emails, bank apps, and of course your curated collection of personal images.
This won't just work on recognised thieves, if your phone is ever being detained this is also a great feature. Needing to get passed that initial pin will make snooping much harder for nosy authority figures of all stripes. As far as personal security is concerned, this update is a win for the consumer's rights. Even the soon to be slightly lowered walled garden of Apple has had a similar feature in iOS running since last year, which has already hampered police efforts to get information from phones.
The other big benefit behind a feature like this is phones like to be rebooted. The ancient scrolls of wisdom teach us to ask ourselves a simple question when a device misbehaves: "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" Those words continue to ring true today, because they are. Computers almost always benefit from a restart, and thanks to the almost constant use, phones usually don't get one often enough. As a person who spent years working in mobile device technical support, please, restart your damn phones sometime.
But before you do that, make sure you know your pin.
If there's one other thing I learned working with phones, it's how few people know their pins. Since phones don't turn off that often, a lot of users who only have pins for restarts have completely forgotten they even set one. Really the only thing even slightly scary about this security update is how many users are going to get locked out of their phones. So please, make sure you know your pin.
The Google Play Services v25.14 update has already begun its rollout, and will continue releasing across Android devices over the following weeks. It might be a good time to call your grandfolks, see how they're doing, ask about any important sets of numbers in their life.
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