A new study says that adding a "kill switch" button in a smartphone will potentially save $2.5 billion for consumers each year by reducing mobile thefts nationwide.
Mobile theft is a primary concern for consumers buying high-end smartphones. The value of these handsets ranging up to $500-$600 or even more convinces people to spend a few extra bucks on premium theft insurances. But how much do people actually spend on insurances each year?
A latest study from Creighton University professor William Duckworth shows that annual phone theft insurances pile up to an estimated $2 billion. The study further reveals that an addition of a kill switch in a smartphone will reduce mobile thefts nationwide, in turn saving consumers $2 billion spent on insurances and an additional $500 million spent on replacement handsets.
Introduction of a "kill switch" in a smartphone was proposed as a part of Secure Our Smartphones initiative launched nearly a year ago. The additional feature on the smartphone will allow owners to brick their handsets in case of theft. Though kill switch integration will save consumers the cost of insurances, wireless carriers will not benefit from the move. Carriers have constantly disapproved of such kill switch integration,as they make tons of money from insurances each year.
"In addition to saving lives, the common sense theft deterrent features we have been advocating for will also help save consumers money," San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a joint statement supporting Duckworth's study, Huffington Post reports. "Manufacturers and carriers need to put public safety before corporate profits and stop this violent epidemic, which has put millions of smartphone users at risk."
The survey was conducted on 1,200 smartphone users in February 2014. The kill switch idea was supported by ninety nine percent of the respondents and 83 percent thought the implementation of the new rule will reduce smartphone theft.
According to an earlier survey by Consumer Reports, 1.6 million smartphones were stolen in 2012 and 50 percent of robberies in San Francisco were smartphone-related. New York reports that smartphone thefts account for 20 percent of all thefts in 2012 and around 10,000 smartphones are stolen each month in London.
