14 DAY TRIAL // Although Windows Phone 8.1 has yet to arrive for the masses, Microsoft confirmed it will add one more major feature to the upcoming operating system, which will render a smartphone inoperable in case of theft.
According to Fred Humphries, Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs for Microsoft, the Redmond company has already signed on to CTIA's Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment a few months ago.
He also confirmed Microsoft will be able to meet these commitments before the CTIA goal of July 2015. Basically, Windows Phone's “Find My Phone” feature will be improved with a few anti-theft features.
Here is what you will be able to do with the new security features that Microsoft plans to implement by July 2015 in order to comply to its commitments with CTIA:
- Remotely erase personal data from the smartphone; - Render the smartphone inoperable by unauthorized users, except the ability to call 911; - Prevent reactivation or setup of the smartphone without the authorized user’s permission; - Reverse the inoperability if they recover their smartphone and restore user data stored in the cloud if the smartphone was erased.
But there's more to it, as Humphries states that these features will be offered as an update for all smartphones powered by Windows Phone 8.0 and up, but the availability of this update will be subject to carriers and handset manufacturers approval.
This means that some smartphones might receive these anti-theft features sooner rather than later, pending on these carriers and phone manufacturers approvals. More details on how these features will work and when exactly they will be available will be shared closer to launch.
“We’ve been focused for some time on helping to protect our customers and their phones. Windows Phone, and before that Windows Mobile, have included a free service provided by the Find My Phone feature, which allows the owner to remotely find, ring, lock or erase their phone from the Web. Lock and Erase help keep user data from prying eyes while Find and Ring help users locate a lost phone," said Fred Humphries, Vice President, U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft.
On a side note, Google is expected to make the same move and add its own anti-theft features to Google by July 2015, though a certain release date has yet to be confirmed. The rollout of the update containing these features will also depend on carriers and phone manufacturers approval.