Android smartphones restart themselves after 3 days of inactivity

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Google is bringing a new security function to Android smartphones that is very similar to a solution that Apple introduced with iOS 18.

Like iPhones under iOS 18, Android smartphones will restart themselves after 72 hours of inactivity. This is intended to increase general security and not annoy the police.

Restart function arrives with Play service update

Before Android users become similarly irritated as iPhone users after the release of iOS 18: With version 25.14 (2025-04-14) of the Google Play Services, Google is introducing a new security function that automatically restarts Android smartphones and tablets if they have not been unlocked for three days.

Even if they are based on Android, cars, TVs and Wear OS watches are apparently exempt from this rule.

Restart puts Android devices into “Before First Unlock” status

A restart puts Android devices (like iPhones) into the so-called “Before First Unlock” state. In this state, the data on the device is encrypted and therefore more difficult to access. The device is only fully decrypted when a passcode is entered or after biometric authentication using a face or fingerprint. This status is called “After first unlock”. It makes it easier to read data with forensic tools, and the device can also be unlocked more easily.

Incidentally, Apple was not the first company to integrate this restart function into the system. The secure Android version GrapheneOS has been offering it for several years. Unlike Apple and now Google, users can set a time limit of between ten minutes and 72 hours for the restart of the system.

Google continues to expand Android theft protection

The new 72-hour restart is just one of the other functions that Google has integrated into Android in recent months to improve security. Other functions include an AI-based feature that is designed to recognize when a smartphone is snatched from the hand – the device then locks promptly.

Even if a smartphone has been offline for a longer period of time, it locks automatically and can only be unlocked with the account details of the rightful owner. The smartphone can also be locked remotely via the Google website android.com/lock. The phone number linked to the device is required to use this function.

The restart function should be available on the first devices in the coming weeks. Google has not yet revealed which Android version is required. The AI anti-theft function is available on devices with Android 10 or higher.

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