Enhancing User Privacy and Security with Android 15: A quick jump into New Features
Android 15 marks a significant stride forward in bolstering user privacy and security. With its latest release, Android introduces several key improvements across various domains, including the Privacy Sandbox, Health Connect, File Integrity, and Partial Screen Sharing. In this blog post, we’ll explore each of these features in detail, outlining their importance and the enhancements Android 15 brings to the table.
File Integrity
Android 15 finally introduces new APIs within FileIntegrityManager, enhancing file security through the use of fs-verity function in Linux kernel. This enhancement provides developers with more robust tools to ensure the integrity of their files, offering an added layer of protection against corruption and tampering that could jeopardize app functionality or user data.
Partial Screen Sharing
App screen sharing hasn’t been yet so great. Introduced in Android 14 QPR2, partial screen sharing enables users to share or record only a specific app window instead of their entire screen. Android 15 further refines the partial screen sharing experience by including MediaProjection callbacks, which let apps customize the screen sharing experience more extensively. Frankly, it allows users to share content selectively without exposing sensitive information that might be visible on other parts of their screen. Additionally, for apps targeting Android 14 (API level 34) or higher, Android 15 mandates user consent for each MediaProjection capture session, reinforcing user privacy and control over what is shared or recorded.
Privacy Sandbox on Android
Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative represents a groundbreaking approach to balancing personalized advertising with user privacy. It aims to create a more private web by eliminating third-party cookies and minimizing the amount of personal information advertisers can access. These changes, however, are not limited to web browsing, as Android Privacy Sandbox has its own approach to this concern. In practical example, advertisement could be shown based on installed apps, without the need to track user.
The technical approach is to use Runtime SDKs which run as a separate process with different permissions than the whole application. Currently, third-party SDKs (i.e. advertisement libraries) have the same permissions as your application which enables them to gather user data without control.
An additional goal of Privacy Sandbox development is to change the way 3rd party SDKs are distributed. SDKs would no longer need to be statically linked to the app itself. Instead, SDKs would be added to the Application store. When a user downloads an app, the specified version of the SDK will be downloaded, if needed. Consider it similar to installing packages on Linux, which at the same time downloads required dependencies.
With Android 15, the Privacy Sandbox has been elevated to extension level 10, about which details can be found here.
Health Connect
Health Connect by Android offers a unified, secure platform for managing and sharing health and fitness data collected by apps. It enables users to control their data across different apps, providing a cohesive health data ecosystem.
The integration of Android 14 extensions 10 into Android 15 enhances Health Connect’s capabilities, adding support for new data types related to fitness and nutrition.
Conclusion
By introducing and enhancing features like the Privacy Sandbox, Health Connect, File Integrity, and Partial Screen Sharing, Android continues to prioritize user privacy and security. These updates not only improve the overall user experience but also empower developers with more tools and capabilities to create secure, privacy-focused applications. As we move forward, it’s clear that Android is committed to evolving in tandem with the needs of its users & upcoming law regulations, ensuring a safer and more private digital environment for everyone.