In the time we are using our mobile phones almost 24 hours per day even when we are walking outside the home and when we ride a car, having our smartphones stolen possibility has become so high. So Android anti theft apps would play an important role in such cases.
Therefore, as the result of increasing of smartphones usage fields, having them stolen would be a crisis. The data which are stored on it, whether the data is pictures of us or our friends, passwords, or credit cards data may cause a huge loss. Even it can lead to be threatened by the thieves.
Thanks to the meteoric improvements in anti-theft security on smartphones, business has been waning for these no-gooders in recent years. Android has plenty of options to make sure that your data is secure should your phone go missing and that it becomes essentially worthless to whomever may have stolen it. With features like remote camera control, it may even help catch criminals!
Nobody wants to think about their phone getting stolen, but the truth is that it could happen to anybody. As such, it’s always a good idea to have some sort of Android anti theft apps on your device.
Google offers a built-in option called Find My Device that can find a missing phone. But there are also some great third-party options available. Let’s take a look on them.
Best Android Anti Theft Apps
1. Find My Device
The first application I will talk about is Google Find My Device. It may be considered as a native app and it comes with many smartphones as a pre-installed application.
This Android anti theft app lets you remotely lock your phone, sign out of your device, and wipe its content. You can also see your phone’s location on a map and call it via the accompanying app.
If you lock your phone remotely, you can write a lock screen message that your device will display permanently until you disable it.
The Find My Device feature is enabled by default. But it’s wise to check that you haven’t accidentally turned it off. To check the status of Find My Device, go to Settings >> Google >> Security and tap on Find My Device. Slide the toggle at the top of the window into the On position if the feature is not active.
There are two ways to access Find My Device features: via the Find My Device web app or smartphone app.
2. Where’s My Droid
One of the longer-standing anti-theft apps on the market, Where’s My Droid has a robust feature set that seems to grow year-on-year. As well as the usual phone-finding functions like GPS tracking and phone-calling, it has plenty of other perks.
You can get it to send a GPS Flare when it’s low on battery. For example, as well as set up an “Attention Word” which you can text to your lost phone from another phone to immediately get information about its location. Pay for the Pro version, and you get a whole bunch of remote-wiping functionality and can take pictures remotely (giving the thief a selfie that you can then hand on to police). The Elite version has its own extra features like Geofencing and Auto Theft Detection based on parameters you set.
3. Cerberus
This Android anti theft app is perhaps the most feature-rich option on this list. With it installed on a lost device, you can pull up a list of calls sent or received. Users can hide the app’s icon so that the crook doesn’t realize you have it installed. And you can even turn on the microphone in hopes of hearing them speak.
Cerberus anti theft app is free for a week. After that it requires a one-time fee of $2.99. Still, for the amount of functionality you get, this just may be the best bang for your buck. Yet, with great power comes great responsibility, and the app may not hold your hand quite like some others presented here.
The three main ways that Cerberus protects your device are: remote control via the web portal, remote control via text message, and automatic alerts.
The app can locate and track your phone, lock your device, start an alarm on your phone, upload call logs, and wipe both internal and external memory.
Cerberus will also help ensure anyone who steals your phone ends up in trouble with the law. It can secretly take photos and record videos of anyone who has your device, then upload them to the cloud for you to see. You can even record audio from your phone’s mic.
This Android anti theft app also supports automatic actions. For example, you can make the phone lock itself if the SIM card is changed, or instantly receive a photo if someone enters the wrong PIN.
4. Avast Mobile Security
Avast Mobile Security is one of the best Android anti theft apps.
However, here we’re only interested in the Avast Anti-Theft feature. It used to be a standalone app. But Avast has since bundled it into a holistic security package. The app has the usual array of alarms, maps, and remote controls, but there are a couple of features that warrant a special mention.
First is remote listening. You can make your stolen device call you on another number and listen to its surroundings. Your phone’s screen will remain black so the thief has no idea that there’s an active call.
Second, you can receive a low battery notification. This notification serves two purposes: It will give you a clue about whether someone is charging and using your device. And it lets you reduce the number of alarms, sirens, and photos you request. So you can conserve energy as long as possible.
While Avast’s Android app is free, you’ll need to subscribe to get access to all the anti-theft features.
5. Prey
Prey Anti-Theft provides you with many functions. It helps protecting your mobile phone and data including the thief’s picture, the location of the mobile, hiding the application from the thieves, defining zones to detect unusual movements, and allowing you to see all active connections near your device to track it easier.
This Android anti theft application also offers a set of premium features like wiping, booming your data, and a File Retrieval feature that allows you to recover your files.
6. App Lock
AppLock is another basic app. This Android anti theft app lets you password-protect any app on your phone. It’s not going to help you get your phone back if someone does steal it, but at least the app will leave you safe knowing that your data is secure if the worst happens.
AppLock can also hide videos and pictures and restrict calls. It means a thief won’t be able to see your private life or rack up massive bills on your account. The app is ad-supported.
7. Lookout
Lookout is exclusively available for mobile devices, and it is only gotten better over the years. A recent update to the app has introduced the ability to receive an email whenever your phone is turned off, the SIM card is changed, and other actions a thief may make after stealing your phone. Lookout will even attempt to take a picture of the perpetrator. Some of these features are free, but most require a premium subscription.
8. Anti-Theft Alarm
At the other end of the complexity scale is Anti-Theft Alarm. It’s a theft deterrent. It does not have post-theft features like phone locating and remote wiping.
As the name suggests, the app will sound a loud alarm in certain circumstances. For example, you can make it go off if someone unplugs your phone while it’s charging, if someone moves your phone from where you left it, if you drop your phone, or if someone changes the SIM card. You can also activate the alarm remotely if you realize someone has stolen it.
The alarm can sound even if your device is on silent. Once activated, the noise won’t stop without a password. Changing the battery or SIM will not have any effect.
Conclusion
Anti-Theft apps are only one part of keeping your Android device secure. These anti-theft Android apps can be just what you need if the worst were to happen. And actually the act of installing them takes so little effort. If you have any other apps you would prefer others check out, share them with us in the comment section below.
