Google and Microsoft will add a "kill-switch" feature to their Android and Windows phone operating systems.
The feature is a method of making a handset completely useless if it is stolen, rendering a theft pointless.
Authorities have been urging tech firms to take steps to help curb phone theft and argued that a kill-switch feature can help resolve the problem.
Apple and Samsung, two of the biggest phone makers, offer a similar feature on some of their devices.
The move by Google and Microsoft means that kill switches will now be a part of the three most popular phone operating systems in the world.
Growing problem
Smartphone theft has become a big problem across the world. According to a report by US authorities:
- Some 3.1 million mobile devices were stolen in the US in 2013, nearly double the number of devices stolen in 2012
- One in three Europeans experienced the theft or loss of a mobile device in 2013
- In South Korea mobile device theft increased five-fold between 2009 and 2012
- In Colombia criminals stole over one million devices in 2013
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