Android 16’s Factory Reset Protection Could Put Thieves Out of Business

In the past few years, Google has more than doubled down on privacy and security features on Android. From Find My Network (now Find Hub) to Scam Detection, Theft Lock, and Remote Lock, the new features give you a peace of mind. However, another super-important improvement Google brought in Android 15 was to the Factory Reset Protection. It prevents thieves from using your device after force resetting it. Well, Android 16 may further improve Factory Reset protection.

Android Authority‘s Mishaal Rahman spotted a screenshot which suggests improvements to the existing Factory Reset Protection. Unlike the current implementation which bad actors figured out a way to bypass (although the phone would still be unusable), Google is tightening FRP further.

Factory Reset Protection in Android 16 will if the phone was force reset and the setup wizard was bypassed. It will then prompt another factory reset. Failing to enter the original owner’s details and bypassing will yet again trigger FRP.

Once triggered, the phone prompts, “This device was reset, but authentication failed during setup. Reset again and enter the device’s previous screen lock or Google Account credentials,” essentially putting thieves out of business for good, forever.

This not only discourages thieves from stealing Android devices but also gives users a better shot at finding their stolen devices via the Find my Network. Although, your device would need to support power-off finding to act like a beacon for the network to find it.

While there’s no timeline on when the feature might roll out. It may or may not be a part of Android 16 but Quarterly Platform releases. We’d love to see Google add it to Android 16 stable.

What are your thoughts on Android 16’s improved Factory Reset Protection? Let us know in the comments below.