After plenty of urging from lawmakers and privacy advocates, major companies including Apple, Samsung and Verizon have agreed to put "kill switch" software on smartphones starting next year.

Under the "Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment" agreement signed by several manufacturers and carriers, an anti-theft tool will be preloaded or available for download on phones sold in the U.S. after July 2015, The Associated Press reported.

Along with Apple and Samsung, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, U.S. Cellular, Sprint and T-Mobile are the biggest names to sign the agreement through the trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association.

"We appreciate the commitment made by these companies to protect wireless users in the event their smartphones are lost or stolen," CTIA CEO Steve Largent said in a written statement quoted by the AP.

"This flexibility provides consumers with access to the best features and apps that fit their unique needs while protecting their smartphones and the valuable information they contain. At the same time, it's important different technologies are available so that a 'trap door' isn't created that could be exploited by hackers and criminals."

With the kill switch, owners will be able to remove a stolen smartphone's data remotely and stop the device from being reactivated.

Word of the agreement comes shortly after Samsung announced two new anti-theft features for the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone.

The Federal Communications Commission says that around one in three robberies that occur in the U.S. involves stealing a phone.

California lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require anti-theft measures to be implemented into every smartphone sold in or shipped to the state. 

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