Google’s Android Device Manager already lets users track down their lost devices, or, in the worst case scenario, wipe all the data on it. It seems though that in its next iteration, the service will get an additional, but less drastic capability, that of locking a device and changing it’s unlock password.

Early last month, Google announced the Android Device Manager to help users recover their lost devices or secure sensitive data. This much needed functionality has previously been provided by third-party apps and services but now comes built into Android itself. This being Google, some might raise privacy concerns, but no one will probably deny the usefulness of such a feature.

The feature is about to get even more useful soon as Google rolls out an update to its Google Play Services package. The new feature includes the ability to lock the device via the web service, as well as changing the current password to unlock the device. This provides users a stopgap measure when attempting to retrieve a lost device, leaving the data wipe as a proper last resort.

The updated Google Play Services, version 3.2.64, should soon go out to devices. Users need not do anything as the update happens in the background with no user interaction necessary.

VIA: Android Police

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