Police push tech firms to make stolen phones unusable for thieves

The Metropolitan Police are pushing for tech firms to make stolen phones unusable for thieves.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he gave companies an ultimatum in March to "take urgent steps to prevent stolen phones from being resold and reused, or we will call on government to step in and legislate".

He revealed today that tech giant Apple has started sharing data to more closely track whether stolen devices get reconnected to a phone network after they are taken, which will help officers build up a global picture of what happens to stolen phones.

It comes after Apple recently implemented a default stolen device protection setting on Apple devices, which users previously had to manually toggle on.

The setting helps protect the accounts and personal information of an iPhone user if they are away from the user's familiar locations - such as home or work - and gives them time to report their phone as "lost" on iCloud, which remotely locks the device.

Samsung and Google are making similar security changes to tackle the issue.

"We're already seeing, whereas a few months ago the majority of stolen phones were being reactivated because of security flaws, now with the security improvements it's the minority being reactivated, that means it's harder for criminals to profit, that will help bring down the crime further," the Met commissioner said.

He added: "For the first time, we are routinely sharing intelligence on stolen devices, building a joint picture of how these phones move and whether they reappear in circulation.

"That partnership is already making a difference. If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them. We are driving up the risk for offenders while cutting off the reward."

Fight to make stolen phones unusable

Sir Mark said he'd been working for two years to get tech firms to improve device security, which included him travelling to Apple's headquarters in Silicon Valley to have a "serious conversation".

Sir Mark told Mornings with Ridge and Frost it was "not easy" dealing with tech companies.

"I mean, it's been two years to get to this point, and we've been sort of bloody minded and determined," he said.

The Met has some of the highest rates per thousand people of personal robbery and theft from the person in England and Wales, among which phones are a "significant" problem.

The international trade in stolen phones is worth millions of dollars, with a device stolen in London worth more in countries like China because it has none of the government restrictions put in place by authorities there.

The Met has seen Snapchat adverts offering children in the UK as much as £380 to steal a single iPhone, with a bonus of £100 for stealing 10.

Call for Home Office to introduce legislation

Sir Mark has written to the Home Secretary calling for legislation to require all phone companies to publish data on stolen devices and reconnections, ensuring transparency and accountability across the industry.

The Met has also asked the Home Office to begin preparing legislation to introduce minimum technical standards so that any phone stolen in the UK is effectively unusable.

"These standards are complex, but we must be ready to act if industry fails to deliver," a statement from the force said.

In the 12 months from June 2025 to May 2026, the number of thefts and robberies where phones were stolen fell by 14,000, a reduction of 18% on the previous year, the Met said.

The first five months of this year saw 6,700 fewer offences of this kind, the force said, a drop of 20.6% on the previous year.

Sir Mark said phone thefts in Westminster had also almost halved following an intensive crackdown that involved hundreds of arrests and the recovery of thousands of phones.

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Of the 587,498 phones stolen in London, excluding the City, between 2017 and February 2024, only 13,998 were recovered, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed.

The Met also solves one of the smallest proportions of these offences compared with other forces in England and Wales, with just 6.9% of personal robbery cases and 0.9% of theft from the person cases ending with a suspect being identified and dealt with last year.

(c) Sky News 2026: Police push tech firms to make stolen phones unusable for thieves