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- Hacker News
- I'm sitting at my desk browsing my phone and it gets locked with the theft protection alert. This only started happening in recent weeks. It's super annoying :/by prtmnth
- Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having? Or is this a feature chasing after fears of the bogeyman, leading to concrete inconveniences like this?by Waterluvian
- Massive in London.by mattlondon
- Yes, its why those long crossbody lanyards are now so popular.
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mggh4ll/a/crossbody-strap...
by datakan - As someone from South America I find it interesting that people born and raised in developed countries would think that phone-snatching detection is a bogeyman feature. Over there it's a given that your belongings can stop being yours at any given moment just 'cause.
- In Mexico, apparently, the scheme is to grab a phone from an inattentive pedestrian from a motorcycle or scooter.by dhosek
- Societies often try to address low-probability-high-cost risks.
City fire departments, car seatbelts, motorbike and bicycle helmets, video doorbells/home CCTV, car steering wheel locks etc etc.
The dangers are uncommon enough that the vast majority of people will live their entire life without ever having their house burn down or crashing their car. But they're common enough that in a city of several million people, the fire department might attend 100 incidents a day.
by michaelt - It's a big enough problem in Brazil that the government has an official app to report incidents of phone theft:
https://www.gov.br/pt-br/apps/celular-seguro-br
https://www.gov.br/pt-br/servicos/comunicar-roubo-furto-de-a...
by warkdarrior - Ever since phones became pretty immune to reselling-theft (steal phone, reset it, sell it) people have been snatching phones and trying to empty crypto, banks, etc before it locks. Some apps don't reauthenticate.by bombcar
- > Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having?
Yes absolutely
by hbn - You seem to be shaking your phone in frustration. Would you like to submit a bug report?
- That's an option in Google mapsby anabab
- I was running on a treadmill a few weeks back, and was knackered so stopped abruptly by jumping into a straddle position with my legs on the rails either side of the actual band on the treadmill. My smartwatch interpreted this as a fall and sent a red alert to my daughter.by gadders
- Doesn't sound very "smart" to me.by notsmarthuh
- It should at least notify you and give you the opportunity to cancel the alert within a few secondsby jrootabega
- Considering that the comments in the original article shows he is using a Pixel 7, the solution is obvious: give Google and its spyware the cold shoulder and install GrapheneOS.by drnick1
- Such a silly complaint. Just file a request with Google for a run, and if you give them a few hours advance notice and verify that it's you through a video call with their AI authentication service, they'll put you right in the queue and tell you the range of slots that you're likely to get one of. You can use the time between now and then to get approval on your route.by pessimizer
- I refuse to go running with a phone - too heavy, and too distracting, running outside is one of the few places I _escape_ the phone for a bit. So I made sure to get a fitness tracker with onboard GPS. It syncs to the phone later, when I return, which then uploads workout data to the vendor's cloud.
I look at the results on my PC with a web browser, phone is a passive middleman and is never touched directly for fitness tracking.
by branon - A phone is heavy while running?by ChrisRR
- I go running for hours in remote locations by myself and carry a phone, watch and a satellite communicator amongst other things. It all depends.by asp_hornet
- You may have tried this, but I run with my phone in an elasticated belt that's just tight enough to keep the phone stable without being uncomfortable. I really don't want to fork out for another device just for running. (I also find a watch on my wrist annoying when I don't wear one normally).by frereubu
- > and too distracting
Wait, you have notifications on? Why?
by nottorp - In Sweden where I live you need to use the digital national ID whenever you make a credit card transaction via some app, for example when buying a bus ticket, so you need to have it with you at all times. But with the ID you can also take a quick loan and transfer all the money to a foreign bank basically ruining your life as the bank take no responsibility if the ID is used during the transaction.by z3t4
- Needing a government app to approve credit card transactions sounds very dystopian. Or did I misread that?by artisinal
- Yes, you really shouldn't ever use a pin code for BankID (or your screen lock) in public. Only biometrics if anyone is watching.by apelapan
- It depends on which bank you use. Swedbank requires calling and speaking with a rep to transfer internationally in addition to a BankID check.by krn1p4n1c
- Does the app not require authentication? At least MitID in Denmark requires a 6-digit PIN at the very minimum, or biometrics optionally.by ianmurrays
- I've been running for 3 years with a pixel 7a, even doing sprints once a week. It triggered once.
But I keep the phone in a running belt, not in my hands.
Now that I think about, it the time it triggered I was pacing my GF and holding the phone in my hand. So it might be a much more common occurrence if you run with your phone in your hands.
Anyway, since I'm often in places where this kind of theft is common. I love the feature and I'd rather it triggers every now and then wrongly than not.
- I found this doozy from someone trying to test out the feature:
> After looking over Google’s advice, my key takeaway was that thieves are in much better shape than me, and run both longer and faster than this nerdy writer has in more than two decades.
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-theft-detection-loc...
Personally, the main situation I'm concerned about is on a bus or train, where someone grabs your phone right and exits right before the door closes. But I already avoid spending a lot of time on the street with my head buried in my phone.
by jerlam - Pull the emergency handle and get your phone back. If you live in South America you might even be allowed to use lethal force doing so.by artisinal