The smartphone “kill switch,” explained

A kill switch allows a smartphone user to remotely wipe the contents of their phones and make them unusable in case they get stolen.

So what could change about your phone if it gets a kill switch? Possibly not that much.

In fact, many smartphone owners already have the capability. Between Apple and Samsung apps, at least 68 percent of US smartphones already have something akin to the "kill switch" capability.

And that number is only expected to grow: Google and Microsoft have also announced plans to put these kinds of features in their Android and Windows Phone systems. Doing so would essentially offer the option to all smartphone buyers, regardless of what state laws require.