A silent update rolling out to virtually all Android devices will make your phone more secure, and all you have to do is not touch it for a few days. The new feature implements auto-restart of a locked device, which will keep your personal data more secure. It’s coming as part of a Google Play Services update, though, so there’s nothing you can do to speed along the process.
Google is preparing to release a new update to Play Services (v25.14), which brings a raft of tweaks and improvements to myriad system features. First spotted by 9to5Google, the update was officially released on April 14, but as with all Play Services updates, it could take a week or more to reach all devices. When 25.14 arrives, Android devices will see a few minor improvements, including prettier settings screens, improved connection with cars and watches, and content previews when using Quick Share.
Most importantly, Play Services 25.14 adds a feature that Google describes thusly: “With this feature, your device automatically restarts if locked for 3 consecutive days.”
This is similar to a feature known as Inactivity Reboot that Apple added to the iPhone in iOS 18.1. This actually caused some annoyance among law enforcement officials who believed they had suspects’ phones stored in a readable state, only to find they were rebooting and becoming harder to access due to this feature.