Remote Lock on Android isn’t very secure, but a fix is coming (Update: Security questions)

Google could ask you a security question before you activate Remote Lock for one of your devices.

May 9, 2025 - 15:12

Remote Lock on Android isn’t very secure, but a fix is coming (Update: Security questions)

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

An app teardown has revealed that Google could ask users for a security question before activating Remote Lock on Android phones.
This should make for a more secure experience as Remote Lock currently requires your phone number.
Google was previously working on a date-based security challenge for Remote Lock.

Update, May 9, 2025 (9:57AM ET): We’ve got another look at this new release in the 25.19.31 beta of Google Play Service and have found that there’s been more progress made on the Remote Lock feature. Previously, we only saw hints that it would ask a security question before Remote Lock would kick in, but we didn’t know the specifics. But now we have that list of questions, and here they are:

What was the make and model of your first car?
What’s your mother’s maiden name?
What’s your father’s middle name?
What was your childhood nickname?
What was the name of your first pet?
What was the name of your first school?
What’s your oldest sibling’s middle name?
What street did you live on as a child?
In what city or town did your parents meet?

As you can see, it’s pretty standard fare for security verification questions. But having this extra layer to Remote Lock makes it harder for someone else to activate the feature against you.