Google Is Rolling Out Some Great Privacy Features to Android This Year
Android 15 is in development at Google headquarters and there are a lot of changes to come. But in my opinion, the best part of future Android updates isn’t any flashy new features: Instead, I’m most excited about these new security features that should make Android phones more secure.
Personal space
Personal Space is a new security feature in Android 15 that lets you hide apps containing sensitive information from the Home screen or app drawer. This is a stunning change: whether you’re passing your unlocked phone to a friend or someone has hacked your PIN and is looking through your apps, any programs you assign to your private space will be hidden from view.
This is a great idea for financial apps such as banking and money transfer apps, as well as apps that contain personal information. Perhaps you want to hide certain messaging apps or a certain file app from the public screen.
Moreover, notifications from apps that you place in your personal space are also hidden. This way, no one will see when someone has messaged you if that messaging app is in a private space, nor will they see any alerts from your bank.
By default, Personal Space is at the bottom of the app drawer, but you can also hide it from view completely. In any case, you can set a new PIN for your personal space, separate from your phone password. This way, even if someone hacks your Android, they won’t know your Personal Space PIN and all the apps on it will be protected.
Theft detection lock
I have to say that Google really upped the ante with the release of theft detection lock: this feature can detect when someone takes your Android out of your hands and runs, bikes, or drives off with it. Google has really worked on figuring out every “common theft activity” to bring that feeling to Android.
As soon as your Android detects theft, it will immediately be blocked. For the most part, thieves need to unlock your Android to gain access to your phone and its data. Unless they were sneaky enough to know your PIN before taking the phone, a locked phone is essentially useless.
If a thief manages to take your phone undetected, Android has other tools this year: If a thief disconnects your phone from the Internet, anti-theft protection can kick in and lock your phone. If they fail to enter your PIN too many times when trying to access sensitive settings, the phone will also be locked.
This app is also not exclusive to Android 15: if you’re running Android 10 or later, you can access it.
Authentication lock like Apple
This year, Google is adding one of Apple’s best security features to Android: authentication lock. This security measure ensures that even if a thief is able to force a factory reset on your stolen Android, they won’t be able to continue setup without providing credentials for the Google account connected to the device. (By the way, now that Android has an authentication lock, there may be a rise in common scams involving stolen phones and devices . Don’t fall for it.)
Additional security measures like Apple
Google is also adding another great Apple security feature to Android: When you turn off Find My Device or extend the auto-lock screen time, Android will require your phone’s password or biometric authentication before continuing. Additionally, “Enhanced Authentication” requires biometric authentication when you try to change “critical settings” on your Google account or device. This includes changing your PIN, turning off theft protection, or trying to access your passwords from a new location.
This is similar to Apple’s anti-stolen device protection , which requires a Face ID or Touch ID scan when accessing certain sensitive settings.
Remote locking in Find My Device feature
Let’s say your phone is stolen and you can’t remember your Google account password to lock your phone using Find My Device. Google’s new remote lock feature allows you to lock your phone by providing your phone number and authenticating to another trusted device. From here, you can remotely reboot your phone if you want to prevent anyone from accessing your data. This feature will be available on Android 10 and later later this year.