Google makes user security stronger with “Android 13” | WIRED.jp

Google is strengthening its position of providing specific data to apps based on the accessibility of the system that Android already has. As a result, Android now acts as a bartender making cocktails, rather than a “liquor store cashier”.

Additionally, Android 13 requires apps to request individual permissions for audio, photo, and video files as part of an effort to restrict access to different storage groups.

Android also limits how much the app can access the clipboard, as it informs users in advance that the app is getting something from the clipboard. On the other hand, Android 13 improves protection by automatically deleting clipboard contents in a short period of time. This prevents the app from finding previously copied information.

To give another example, you are unlikely to inadvertently share your list of “reasons to hate your company” with your boss. Android 13 continues to restrict permissions for apps that request location information, such as enabling Wi-Fi.

In Android 13, new apps need permission before notifications are sent to users. Plus, it automatically resets permissions for apps you haven’t used in a while.Features included in Android 11strengthens; Google has extended this feature to older devices running Android 6, with more than 5 billion permissions automatically reset by the operating system to date.

This feature means that games that weren’t played three years ago with access to a microphone can no longer get audio. Android 13 also makes it easy for app developers to forcefully remove permissions if they don’t want to retain access for longer than necessary.

Efforts to protect developers

In the past, it was important for Google to be able to provide security updates to Android devices around the world. This is because Android attaches great importance to the spirit of open source, and any manufacturer can install a modified version of Android as their operating system.

Google has been working on a framework called “Google System Update” for many years to remedy this situation. The framework divides the operating system into components, allowing smartphone makers to provide updates for different modules directly through Google Play.

Currently, there are more than 30 such items. Android 13 has added components for Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband (UWB) components used in short-range communications such as radar.

Google mitigates common software vulnerabilities by creating a mechanism that allows developers to develop their own apps in a more secure way. One example is modifying important parts of Android code with a more secure programming language like Rust.

Google is also improving the security of its Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). For example, a new service called Google Play SDK Index that provides transparency to widely used software development kits, giving developers more information before integrating third-party modules into their apps. It has begun to be provided.

More “controllable” operating systems

Apple puts the app privacy label on iOS which details the privacy policyinsertedThen, on Android, we added a Data Security item to Google Play that shows the user how the app handles data such as a configuration table.