In the current connected era we live in, keeping devices secure is a strong focus not only for users but for providers as well. Android as a mobile platform has over 2.5 billion devices connected which results in a lot of work to keep them secure. Google latest security blog shows how they have continued to rise to the challenge.
This past year, Play Protect prevented over 1.9 billion malware installs from unknown sources. Throughout 2019 there were many improvements made to Play Protect to bring the best of Google to Android devices to keep users safe.
One of these strategies is to continue pushing developers to build apps on the latest standards. The minimum standard forces all developers to stay atop the expectations, market needs, security requirements and OS progression. These changes move forward with each version of the Android OS, with the current API level sitting at API level 29. As part of this, users will see a warning notifying them that the app they are trying to install is intended for an older version. The more astute users will notice that these apps are difficult to find as they are de-prioritised by the Play Store search algorithm if they’re not meeting current standards.
Deeper integration with Google’s own apps
If you’re unfortunate enough to have installed a malicious app, the Google Files app now reminds users to scan apps and remove any malicious presence from their devices.
This year, we integrated Google Play Protect notifications within the app so that users are prompted to scan and remove any harmful applications that may be installed.
Given the continual efforts being put in by the “bad guys” to get their hands on your data, the efforts by Google to protect users offers some peace of mind in an evolving landscape.
What do you do to protect yourself and your data on your mobile devices?
