Google is preparing to launch a new system to address the issue of malware on Android. The new live threat detection service leverages Google Play Protect's on-device AI to analyze apps for malicious behavior. The service, announced after Tuesday's Google I/O developer event, examines various signals related to an app's use of sensitive privileges and interactions with other apps and services, the company said.
If we find suspicious behavior, Google Play Protect can send your app to Google for further review, warn users who have your app installed, and optionally disable your app. can.
This detection also leverages Google's Private Compute Core, the Android privacy infrastructure that was introduced in 2022 and provides an isolated data processing environment within the Android operating system. The idea of a Private Computing Core (PCC) is to give users control over whether, how, and when their data is shared. PCC lets you protect your users without collecting data with new live threat detection capabilities.
Image credit: Google
Google has announced that it will bring the system to Google Pixel devices later this year. Other manufacturers such as Oppo, Honor, Lenovo, OnePlus, Nothing, Transsion, and Sharp are also expected to participate.
This service may make it easier for Android users to download and use apps from Google Play. However, you definitely don't want to download malware in the first place. Rather, they hope to discover malicious apps during app review. This is an area of focus for Apple, which regularly promotes the benefits of the App Store to consumers and developers. Bad actors often slip through the cracks, but we weed out even more through a more intensive review system before allowing them to publish on the App Store. Ahead of I/O, Apple announced, for example, that it had stopped $1.8 billion in fraud on the App Store.
In addition to its live threat detection service, Google announced that it will hide one-time passwords from notifications to reduce common attack vectors for fraud and spyware. Restricted settings in Android 13 have also been expanded to require additional user approval to enable app permissions when sideloading apps onto a device.
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