Summary: Google’s new Identity Check feature is expanding to more Android devices with Android 16, after initially launching on Pixel and Samsung phones. This security upgrade prevents thieves from accessing sensitive apps and settings—even if they know your passcode—by requiring biometric authentication when your phone is outside trusted locations.
With Android 16, Google is going to bring its Identity Check feature to more devices. Currently, Identity Check is only available on Pixel and Samsung devices. This feature will prevent thieves from being able to access and unlocking sensitive apps, even if the thief knows the passcode to the device.
The feature first launched with the December 2024 Pixel Feature Drop, and with Samsung’s One UI 7 update – which is just now starting to roll out. It’s also been spotted on the OnePlus 13 with the Android 16 Beta release.
What does Identity Check do?
When enabled, Identity Check will require the user’s biometrics before allowing changes to critical security or access to saved passwords and other sensitive data. Obviously, this would prevent thieves from being able to access this sensitive data, despite knowing the passcode or PIN. Identity Check is only enforced when the device is outside of the “trusted location”. So for example, if it is away from your home, it would require you to verify yourself.
Typically, when you want to make changes to security and privacy features, you need to include your PIN or passcode to get in. But that’s not the case with Identity Check. Instead, you need to use your biometrics only. On Pixel, that would be the fingerprint or facial recognition. While other devices would be fingerprint only. This is why it launched on a very small number of devices at first, because the underlying feature to disable the fallback with Identity check enabled, needed to be available.
Android 16 is set to be available on June 3. We expect that it will head to AOSP on June 3, with the final Pixel update being available shortly thereafter.
