Google may pack an even more potent and easily accessible ‘Advanced Protection Mode’ in the Android 16 OS update. Introduced way back in 2017, this mode adds multiple layers of protection to thwart hacking attempts.
What is the ‘Advanced Protection Mode’?
Google announced the Advanced Protection Program back in 2017. It is essentially a combination of processes, conditions, limitations, and prerequisites to protect a Google account.
Initially meant for IT admins, journalists, activists, business executives, and politicians, the program forces the use of a security key or pass key to sign into a Google account. It prevents subscribers from downloading files that Google Chrome marks as harmful. Additionally, the mode blocks users from giving certain apps (unapproved by Google) access to their Google account data.
Apart from standard precautions, the Advanced Protection mode adds multiple layers of security to make it exceptionally difficult for hackers to steal information.
In 2020, Google expanded the program to include Android phones. The protection mode forces Google Play Protect to stay enabled. It blocks subscribers from installing apps from outside the Google Play Store or other preinstalled app stores. Those enrolled in the Advanced Protection Program get warnings about apps on the Play Store that Google hasn’t approved.
Google may bolster Advanced Protection Mode in Android 16
Google has been actively developing Android 16. The search giant has been tweaking multiple aspects of the OS, especially in the Settings and customization areas.
The AOSP (Android Open-Source Project) Gerrit reportedly has a new patch titled “[AAPM] Introduce new Service for Android Advanced Protection Mode”. The description of the patch indicates the service “will be used to enroll devices into a security-conscious protection mode, and to allow clients to customize [the] behavior based on the state of this mode.”
“The service allows users to enroll into ‘advanced protection’ via Settings, and for apps to check if the user is enrolled, via the ‘AdvancedProtectionManager#isAdvancedProtectionEnabled()‘ API,” a Google engineer reportedly said.
Simply put, Google could be amending the Settings app in Android 16 to integrate the Advanced Protection Mode. Similar to the ‘Live Location Sharing’ page, users could enable “Advanced Protection” in the Settings app.
The patch adds a SELinux policy for the new Android Advanced Protection Mode service. However, it applies only if the “board API” level is 202504. This code is the vendor API level for next year’s Android 16 release.
Google could release the Android 16 OS update early next year. The company has codenamed it “Baklava,” which breaks the naming convention Google has followed for many years.
