Android phones will auto-reboot after 3 days of inactivity

In brief: Google is borrowing a page from Apple's playbook. The tech giant is rolling out a new security feature that will automatically restart a device that has been locked and inactive for three consecutive days.

Apple introduced a similar feature dubbed inactivity reboot with iOS 18.1 near the end of 2024. After a few days of inactivity, an iPhone equipped with the feature will automatically reboot itself. Most consider this an added layer of security, as a rebooted device is more difficult to break into and extract data from.

Typically, biometrics and location-based unlocking do not work immediately after a fresh reboot, necessitating a passcode or PIN instead. Data in this "before first unlock" state is also encrypted, making it that harder to access.

The smartphone industry largely operates on the "monkey see, monkey do" ideology. Once a company introduces a novel concept, it is only a ...