To curb mobile phone theft Google and Microsoft may soon add a kill switch on to their respective mobile operating systems (Android and Windows Phone OS). Apple Inc already has the ‘kill switch’ on their iDevices.
What is this Kill Switch?
Take for example the Apple iPhone it comes with the option to completely disable the handset making it pretty much useless. Users can opt in for this feature and once setup they will be able to locate the handset, remotely erase the data from the handset and even lock the handset. Now this is a very good deterrent to smartphone theft.
iPhone robbery had reduced after this kill switch was introduced. If the phone doesn’t work, then it’s no good robbing it. In fact robberies of other devices (windows / android based) rose. When the kill switch is activated the handset turns into a piece of junk, it will not work and will it will reduce the price drastically – no one would want to buy this stolen / lost device.
So now Google and Microsoft will implement this kill switch option on their operating systems pretty soon. This may not be a completely foolproof system but it will reduce the smartphone theft to a larger extent. There is a possibility that the phone accessories or parts may be the only option that could monetize, but in the larger sense the Kill Switch will discourage smartphone theft.