Apple, Samsung, Google & others back universal anti-theft tools agreement

The world’s biggest smartphones makers all agree on at least one thing: it’s time to find a new way to protect the personal data on your device.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, and several others have decided to build an anti-theft tool into their smartphones that will help keep personal data out of other people’s hands, according to mobile industry trade group CTIA.

The tool, as described by the CTIA, would allow you to remotely wipe and restore your device from a backup version (presumably in the cloud). It would also prevent anyone else from using a stolen device once this process was activated.

The full list of gadget-makers involved — not to mention all the major wireless carriers — make this a game-changer if it indeed comes to pass. The CTIA said we can expect the anti-theft tool to start popping up in smartphones sometime in 2015.