The concept of kill switch is not new and also exists as law in certain countries. Therefore, more and more manufacturers and software developers have started deploying security-related features in their mobile devices. Android 5.0 Lollipop with Apple’s newest “iOS 8” and now Windows Phone 8.1 each offer kill switch feature to save sensitive phone data. The kill switch function remotely disables the device after it is lost or stolen by someone. The Qualcomm has offered a similar feature but on the hardware side (chipsets). The new Snapdragon 810 will now come with kill switch functionality, dubbed “Safeswitch”. SafeSwitch will allow you to “set a password remotely, erase and recover data, and locate or lock a lost or stolen device”. It has also been reported that the Qualcomm might make this feature standard for it products.

Now Qualcomm also claims that this Safeswitch is hard to hack, the reason not being that it is hardware-based but due to its early activation during boot process, way before the rest of the firmware on your phone starts.

Qualcomm Safeswitch is now official