Sometimes things get jumbled when details aren’t clear. The current smartphone kill switch conundrum is a similar kind. Recently, lawmakers in the state of Minnesota passed a bill requiring all smartphone manufacturers to install a function known as a “kill switch” that will disable a smartphone in the event it is ever lost or stolen, preventing thieves and opportunists from using the devices. Knowing what the bill means will assist in our better understanding of a bill that is all about our beloved smartphones and mobile phones. So let’s take a look at a few rare essentials of this “Kill Switch Bill”.
What is a “Kill Switch” after all?
Technically a kill switch is an emergency stop installed as a safety mechanism to shut off a device/machine when same can’t be done in the usual manner, such as in train’s kill switch. Sometimes this could damage the device or leave it inoperable, but a kill switch is essentially put in place to prevent injury, death or danger.
There are/will be two kinds of smartphone kill switches; one ‘hard kill switch’ and one ‘soft kill switch’. If a hard kill switch is used (there is no such option yet at this time), it will leave any iPhone or Android smartphone completely useless. When a soft kill switch is activated (not sure yet how and what the process will be), it will make the device completely unusable only until its legitimate owner enters their PIN/password reversing the kill switch.
The problem the ‘Kill Switch Bill’ faces
The hard kill switch becomes impractical for the cost it involves. First, smartphones are expensive devices and permanently disabling those with a ‘hard kill switch’ is edgy. Investigative agencies quote that today mobile devices carry useful data that can help in different situations and due to the hard kill switch investigations would suffer a big setback.
Moving to a soft kill switch is a better approach, however the soft kill switch needs to be activated before the new owner hard resets the device. It could very well be more than a few months (or even years) before such a bill is passed nationwide and some smartphone makers may go ahead with a built-in soft kill switch opt in/opt out feature on their devices. Android tablets and iPad devices are not covered under this bill.
What smartphone users are worried about
Some common worries users are concerned with are loss and misuse of data, contacts, emails and photos/videos on the mobile device. It is scary to imagine that one’s very personal smartphone could be in someone else’s hands. Imagine if your child’s photos were taken from your phone and posted onto unknown websites or your business contacts/emails’ details being sold to the highest bidder.
Mobile anti-theft and more
Remote wipe features become most essential during iPhone theft and Android smartphones being lost. Remote commands to lock/unlock the phone are also important, as well as finding the most recent GPS coordinates to track the device. Also important are all the parental controls and blocking options that restrict teens’ objectionable use of the internet and current popular smartphone apps.
There is no such mobile anti-theft technology in place as one can’t deter thieves or opportunists from picking up your un-attended smartphone! The best bet is to never lose the phone (better said than done) and if you do, have mobile tracking software installed on it beforehand. Mobile Spy is a top rated mobile monitoring solution that can be put to use for logging the device’s use, GPS tracking, remote commands and much more.