Here’s Who Needs Android’s New Advanced Security Protection (and Who Probably Doesn’t)
Android users received a slew of security and privacy updates with the release of Android 16, including enhanced call fraud protection, real-time threat detection for malicious apps, and more. These features are worth enabling as they help protect your data and your device from theft, malware, and phishing attacks. Google also expanded its Advanced Protection Program to include stricter device-level features aimed at reducing the risk of compromise.
Advanced Protection offers the most robust, all-round protection available on Android in a single setting—an incredibly useful tool for journalists, activists, and anyone with access to sensitive data that could be targeted by attackers. Those who are particularly concerned about privacy and security may also want to enable Advanced Protection, while the average user will need to weigh how well the feature fits their security needs.
How Extended Protection Works on Android 16
Advanced Protection brings robust security to your Android 16 device by default, enabling certain features and disabling the ability to disable others. It also includes new protections, such as automatically rebooting your device if it’s locked for 72 hours, encrypting your data with biometrics or your PIN. Additionally, your device won’t be able to automatically reconnect to unsecured Wi-Fi networks, and USB access will be blocked when your phone is locked.
Advanced Protect automatically turns on security features like theft detection, HTTPS in Chrome for all website connections, and fraud and spam protection in messages. You can turn these on individually in your device settings, but Advanced Protection does it all in one fell swoop. It also won’t let you turn off Google Play Protect and Android Safe Browsing, which prevent you from downloading malicious apps and visiting malicious websites on your device.
Potential drawbacks to Advanced Protection include restrictions on third-party apps—you can only download them from approved sources like the Google Play Store—and the possibility that some websites will break due to Chrome’s JavaScript optimizer being disabled. (Note that you should be extremely careful when downloading apps from unofficial sources, as they can be vectors for malware .)
Advanced Protection is comparable to Apple’s Lockdown Mode for iOS , which blocks certain app and website features and settings changes that could be used to spread malware. Even Apple has stated that Lockdown Mode is “extreme, extra protection” aimed at high-risk users who may be personally vulnerable to cyberattacks, rather than intended for the average person.
So, is Advanced Protection worth using? As the guys at the Electronic Frontier Foundation write , “there’s no harm in trying it.” It’s easy to turn on and off, and you may not notice any impact on your device (while still benefiting from stronger security measures running in the background). You can always turn it off if it’s restricting your day-to-day activities, knowing that for some users it’s probably overkill. And you can still enable Google Play Protect along with Android 16’s other individual security features and follow best practices for protecting your device from cyberthreats.
How to enable extended protection
To enable Advanced Protection on your Android 16 device, open the Settings app and go to Security & Privacy > Advanced Protection . Toggle the switch next to Device Protection and tap Turn On . You’ll then need to restart your device for Advanced Protection to activate and work.