Most modern smartphone brands, including the likes of Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Nothing, and more, offer accidental screen touch protection in the form of a ‘pocket mode.’ As its name suggests, the mode essentially prevents accidental touches and pocket dialing when your smartphone is in your pocket.
Pixel phones, however, don’t offer similar functionality, but that is set to soon change.
Highlighted by the folks over at PiunikaWeb, after several years of users complaining about the issue, the Pixel team is finally rolling out something that could be comparable to a pocket mode. Yes, you can lock your phone before you put it in your pocket, but the added protection and peace of mind that a dedicated pocket mode would offer is incomparable, especially considering that
In an IssueTracker report from all the way back in January 2024, Google just confirmed that a fix for the unintended touch bug should roll out in one of the “future releases.”
Two years in the making
The original IssueTracker report is essentially a feature wishlist, and it describes the feature, its desired behavior, why current approaches don’t work and what new use cases the feature would enable.
- Feature: Accidental touch prevention.
- Desired behavior: The phone should be able to detect when it is in a pocket or bag and prevent accidental touches. This could be done using a variety of sensors, such as the accelerometer, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor.
- Why current approaches or workarounds are insufficient: There are a few third-party apps that can help to prevent accidental touches, but they are not as effective as a built-in solution.
- What new use cases will this feature enable?: This feature would allow users to confidently put their phones in their pockets or bags without having to worry about accidental touches.
Soon after the feature request was submitted, a Google engineer confirmed that the company was “considering” the accidental touch prevention feature. That was all the way back in February 2024. A little under two years later, the feature is finally ready to be rolled out.
“Marked as fixed. The issue has been fixed and watch out for future releases,” wrote a Google engineer.
It isn’t entirely clear what “future release” the feature will roll out with, though March 2026’s Pixel Feature Drop is the most likely candidate.
