Smart Lock “On Body Detection” Now Coming to Lollipop Devices, Doesn’t Feel Very Useful
Aside from “Trusted Devices” and “Trusted Places”, there’s a new method for smart locking and unlocking your Android phone. Google has rolled out a brand new “On body detection” mode for the Smart Lock menu.
With this option, users will be able to keep their devices unlocked depending on the proximity to the body. This feature was seen rolling out on the Nexus 4 phone at the end of last week. The “On body detection” function keeps the device unlocked once it’s already unlocked, as long as the user holds the gadget near the body. This is helpful if you leave the device in a bar or on the night stand for example and want to make sure it’s locked.
The On Body detection smart lock can’t differentiate between bodies, exposing you to theft, sadly. This also means that if you hand the phone over to someone, it stays unlocked too. The accelerometer is put to use to detect if the device is being carried on the body. If it detects it’s no longer held, it won’t stay unlocked. Non Nexus devices are also reported to have received such functionality.
