Android 16's Advanced Protection mode is almost ready for prime time
Android 16 is expected to introduce the Advanced Protection feature to greatly enhance device security.
Newly surfaced screenshots give us a good look at the feature, while detailing what functions will be restricted.
The new menu will disable 2G connections and restrict WEP Wi-Fi, while activating security features like Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock.
Since October last year, we've known about Google's plans to bring an Advanced Protection mode to Android 16. This is supposed to be an extension of the Advanced Protection Program that lets individuals apply additional safeguards to their Google accounts from threats of hacking. But the version debuting with Android 16 takes it further by making Advanced Protection features accessible to everybody with the help of a simple toggle in the Settings. We're now getting a good look at this new menu that could likely appear with Android 16.
Thanks to some tinkering within Android 16 Beta 4, the folks at Android Authority managed to enable the Advanced Protection menu from the Settings app, giving us a good look at all the device protection features this toggle will activate. We caught an early glimpse of this menu in February with the Android 16 Beta 2 release, though this new revelation paints a better picture.
Source: Android Authority
Google makes it clear what features will be missing with Advanced Protection enabled, detailing a total of six "device protection features." Based on past reporting on Android 16's Advanced Protection mode, we've learned that 2G connections will be disabled, while WEP Wi-Fi connections will be restricted, too. These newly published screenshots and the video corroborate those findings and clarify what the other items do.
Features like Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock are part of the equation here, providing the necessary protection in case you lose your device. Apps like Google Phone and Google Messages are naturally included under Advanced Protection to help avoid spam calls/messages.
Thanks to the addition of the AdvancedProtectionManager API with Android 16 Beta 2, we know that third-party app developers will be able to tell when a user has enabled Advanced Protection. This will let the developers tweak their apps to accommodate the new security features. We can see this being useful in secure messaging or banking apps that need to keep things tightly locked down.
Furthermore, Advanced Protection on Android will restrict downloading apps from unknown sources and enable MTE (Memory Tagging Extension), which spots vulnerabilities in the device's memory. Lastly, users will be warned when visiting non-HTTPS pages on their device's browser, with Android Safe Browsing also included.
Given that we've seen work on this feature since October last year, coupled with the fact that it's appeared in a couple of Android 16 betas since then, it's safe to assume that Google will debut Advanced Protection features when the software goes stable next month, provided there are no last-minute hiccups.
We may not have to wait until June to learn more about these features, as Google has recently confirmed it will stream an episode of "The Android Show" on May 13 to offer "a special deep-dive" of the operating system. However, the company will have "more special announcements and surprises" during its annual I/O conference a week later.
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