SAN FRANCISCO – Google and Microsoft will add kill switches to the next versions of their cell phone operating systems, according to San Francisco district attorney George Gascón.
The move is seen as a major step towards making smart phones and other easily-stolen devices such as tablets less of a theft risk.
Gascón made the announcement on Thursday together with New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman. Together they head the Secure Our Smartphones Initiative, which has pushed for kill switches on phones.
"The commitments of Google and Microsoft are giant steps toward consumer safety and the statistics released today illustrate the stunning effectiveness of kill switches," Schneiderman said.
The Google operating system, Android, is used in more than half of U.S. smartphones. Microsoft's operating system is used on Nokia smartphones.
Apple added an activation lock feature to iPhones in September. iPhone robberies declined 38% over the next six months, figures released by the initiative showed.
"We can make the violent epidemic of smartphone theft a thing of the past, and these numbers prove that," said Gascón.
In New York City, robberies and grand larcenies involving Apple products dropped 19% and 29% in the first five months of 2014, according to a report released Thursday.
At the same time, robberies and grand larcenies from Samsung smartphones in New York City increased by over 40%. Samsung introduced a kill switch solution in April of 2014 on its Verizon Wireless devices.
Kill switches allow users to remotely erase data from a stolen phone as well as making it inoperable.
When engaged, they transform something that might have a street value of several hundred dollars into a worthless paperweight.
If the phone is recovered, the data can be restored and the phone turned back on.
Together, Apple, Google and Microsoft account for 97% of smartphones sold in the United States, Schneiderman said.
