Your Android phone now auto-restarts if it's been locked for three days

Google is currently in the process of rolling out the latest update to Google Play Services. This is a way in which the Android maker can issue some updates outside of the actual OS updates, and that's exactly what's happening this time around.

Once your Android phone receives the latest Google Play Services update, labeled 25.14, it will automatically restart if it has been locked for three consecutive days.

This is a security feature meant to take the phone into its "Before First Unlock" state, where it will land after the auto-reboot. In this state, data is encrypted and harder to access than it is if the phone is in its "After First Unlock" state, once you have entered your passcode upon any restart.

Apple launched a similar feature in iOS 18.1 last year (Inactivity Reboot is what it's called there), and it's good to see Google following suit. This will work on Android phones and tablets, but not Wear OS devices.

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