If recovering your missing or stolen Android device is not possible, then remotely erasing the data in it may be your last resort in protecting your privacy. Your Android smartphone or tablet can contain anything from your financial information to intimate photos. Imagine if such sensitive data gets into the wrong hands.

The following four apps have been handpicked for their robust anti-theft features, as well as their powerful remote wiping capability. They can all be downloaded for free from the Google Play store.

Lost Android (Theis Borg)

The free Lost Android app offers a formidable range of anti-theft features, including phone locking via SMS, GPS tracking, calls forwarding, sound recording from the device’s microphone, and remote wiping of data in your device and SD card. Other helpful features of this app include the ability to receive an email when the SIM card of the stolen device has been changed, remotely take a picture using the front and rear cameras, use text-to-speech functionality to make your mobile phone “speak” via SMS, and stop data and Wi-Fi connection via SMS.

SeekDroid (GT Media, LLC)

With SeekDroid’s remarkable phone locking and remote wiping capabilities, you can at least safeguard your personal data when your Android device gets stolen. SeekDroid allows you to use SMS text messaging to set off an audible alarm even when your phone is in silent mode. You can also obtain information about your missing mobile device, such as its location, battery level, and recent call logs.

Android Device Manager (Google Inc.)

This free and hugely popular anti-theft app for your Android smartphone or tablet helps you track a mobile device you have linked to your Google account. You also get notified if the SIM card of your missing phone has been replaced. Google’s Android Device Manager app enables remote wiping and resetting of your screen locker PIN.

Comodo Anti-theft (Comodo Security Solutions)

In case you misplace your Android smartphone or tablet, the free Comodo Anti-theft app allows you to log in to a Web interface and view on a map the current location of your mobile device. An alarm can be triggered remotely even when the device is in silent mode. There’s also a feature for taking pictures remotely, so you can see whoever is holding your device. Comodo Anti-theft’s Web interface displays a log of when your device was last online. Aside from letting you perform a remote lock or erase as a last-ditch effort to safeguard your data, the app has a handy feature for flashing a message on your missing device screen for the potential finder to read.

Pick a good anti-theft app today for your Android device. You’ll never know when its various features might come handy.