São Paulo Police Hit “Lock” on Stolen Phones

If your cell phone is stolen in Brazil, help might be just a few clicks away. Google and the São Paulo police have teamed up to help combat theft and robbery across the state. The initiative gives officers a powerful new tool to disable and recover stolen Android devices.

Using Google’s Find My Device” system, police officers can remotely lock a stolen phone, trigger an alarm, track its location in real time, or even wipe its data entirely. But they can only act if the victim requests it and provides key information, such as the registered telephone number.

For now, the system works only on Android devices, which make up the vast majority of smartphones in Brazil. Users must also have activated the Remote Lock and Theft Detection Lock features in advance. However, beginning in the second half of 2025, all new Android phones sold in Brazil will come with these protections enabled by default.

Disabling the phone and tracking its location are helpful first steps. But if victims want the police to investigate, they still need to file a police report (Boletim de Ocorrência) and provide details such as the phone’s IMEI number.

Between January and April of this year, 24,700 cell phones were reported stolen in the city of São Paulo. And those are just the officially recorded cases. Many more likely go unreported. While the new system won’t prevent thefts, it gives police a better chance to respond quickly and offers victims some peace of mind knowing their data is protected.