Android 16 could be the most secure version yet

Android 16 could come with new Advanced Protection options. Google's Advanced Protection Program is a suite of optional security features meant to safeguard information in the accounts of people at higher than normal risk of phishing or other online attacks.

Writing for Android Authority, Mishaal Rahman has reported that Google's working to ready Advanced Protection integration for Android 16, with new settings and a new API that'll allow apps to change their behavior depending on whether users have Advanced Protection enabled.

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What is the Google Advanced Protection Program?

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Enrolling your Google account in the Advanced Protection Program already places limits on your Android devices that account is signed into; it prevents the installation of apps from sources other than pre-installed app stores like the Play Store and Galaxy Store, and warns when a user tries to install an app from the Play Store than hasn't been approved by Google.

According to Rahman, a recent patch in the AOSP Gerrit refers to a "new Service for Android Advanced Protection Mode." A comment on the patch from a Google engineer clarified that the service in question "allows users to enroll into ‘advanced protection’ via Settings, and for apps to check if the user is enrolled" using a new API.

This new API, Rahman explains, will allow apps to see whether Advanced Protection is enabled on-device, and to adjust their behavior accordingly. For example, apps could automatically require additional authentication before showing certain content, like protected files or banking details, when Advanced Protection is enabled.

We should see Advanced Protection in Android 16

Which could be here before you know it

Rahman says the code referencing this new Advanced Protection Mode functionality implies that it's in development as an Android 16 feature rather than one meant to roll out in one of Android 15's QPR updates.

We're still waiting on the stable release of Android 15, but it seems like 2025's Android 16 is ahead of schedule. We're currently expecting to see Android 16 sometime in the second quarter of next year.

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