Kill Switch makes a big dent in phone theft

Thanks to Apple's Activation Lock feature, police in New York, San Francisco, and London have noticed a decrease in smartphone thefts.

The device can be unlocked according to two hackers that recently published a workaround. But the extra steps required seem to be more than most thieves want to deal with.

Since the launch of Activation Lock in September, Phone theft fell significantly in San Francisco (38 percent) and London (24 percent).


AG Eric Schneiderman of New York told the Times that these so-called "kill switches" have clearly made an impact on cell phone thieves. "If [smartphones] can be canceled like the equivalent of canceling a credit card, these are going to be the equivalent of stealing a paperweight," he told the paper.

Since then, other companies have Opted In, including AT&T, Google, HTC, Motorola, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon. But they won't be available until 2015.

In May, Minnesota became the first state to require a cell phone "kill switch." The California Senate also passed a bill that would do the same, though it still awaits approval from the California Assembly.