My phone thinks I'm being robbed when I go for a run
My phone detects going on a run as "someone snatching my phone and running off"
Fabian Giesen, a game developer, noticed that after a recent update, his phone's motion detection misinterprets the start of a run as a snatch-and-grab. The phone triggers an alarm, assuming someone has grabbed it and is running away. Giesen shared the amusing but concerning behavior on Mastodon, highlighting the quirks of AI-based activity recognition.
As of a recent update, my phone has started detecting going on a run as 'someone snatching my phone and running off'.
- freetime2
In a somewhat similar vein, I find that when I use my Apple Watch to track a hike, it will frequently auto pause or ask me if I've finished when I'm climbing slowly up a steep ascent. It annoys the heck out of me because that's often when I'm working hardest. My watch is also tracking my heart rate - and I think it's pretty safe to assume that if my HR is holding steady at 150 BPM then I have not stopped for a break.
Or at least give me the option to turn off Auto Pause/Auto End just for hiking workouts - instead I have to turn off the feature for all workouts. But I suppose that level of customization would be very un-Apple.
The world of appliances is littered with these "smart" features that purport to make life more convenient, but are implemented so crudely that they end up causing more trouble than they solve.
- gucci-on-fleek
I have a Pixel 7a on the latest version (Android 17, July 2026 build), and I'm able to turn this off. If you want to find it the long way, then tap through the following screens:
Settings > Security & Privacy > Lost device protection > Theft protection > Theft Detection Lock > (Off)
Or if you want to find it the fast way, open the Settings app, search for "theft", and then tap the first result and turn it off.
- federiconafria
I've been running for 3 years with a pixel 7a, even doing sprints once a week.
It triggered once.
But I keep the phone in a running belt, not in my hands.
Now that I think about, it the time it triggered I was pacing my GF and holding the phone in my hand. So it might be a much more common occurrence if you run with your phone in your hands.
Anyway, since I'm often in places where this kind of theft is common. I love the feature and I'd rather it triggers every now and then wrongly than not.
- jerlam
I found this doozy from someone trying to test out the feature:
> After looking over Google’s advice, my key takeaway was that thieves are in much better shape than me, and run both longer and faster than this nerdy writer has in more than two decades.
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-theft-detection-loc...
Personally, the main situation I'm concerned about is on a bus or train, where someone grabs your phone right and exits right before the door closes. But I already avoid spending a lot of time on the street with my head buried in my phone.
- z3t4
In Sweden where I live you need to use the digital national ID whenever you make a credit card transaction via some app, for example when buying a bus ticket, so you need to have it with you at all times. But with the ID you can also take a quick loan and transfer all the money to a foreign bank basically ruining your life as the bank take no responsibility if the ID is used during the transaction.
- thataccount
Someone did snatch your phone and run off. It just happened to be you.
- drnick1
Considering that the comments in the original article shows he is using a Pixel 7, the solution is obvious: give Google and its spyware the cold shoulder and install GrapheneOS.
- branon
I refuse to go running with a phone - too heavy, and too distracting, running outside is one of the few places I _escape_ the phone for a bit. So I made sure to get a fitness tracker with onboard GPS. It syncs to the phone later, when I return, which then uploads workout data to the vendor's cloud.
I look at the results on my PC with a web browser, phone is a passive middleman and is never touched directly for fitness tracking.
- Waterluvian
Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having? Or is this a feature chasing after fears of the bogeyman, leading to concrete inconveniences like this?
- a3w
Technically correct, though? Must be a thief, you are even chasing them or your other gadgets would disconnect!