Learn about the new security and privacy features of the latest Android version, Android 11

After a long wait and beta testing, Google officially released the latest Android 11 operating system last week. Similar to Apple's latest iOS 14, Android 11 also introduces many new features to ensure user control over data security and privacy.

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According to Google's latest announcement about Android, the latest Android 11 operating system includes many new security features to ensure the security of user data, increase transparency, and provide users with more control. Here are 5 of the more important new security and privacy features.

One-time permissions

Similar to existing features in iOS, the one-time permission feature allows users to grant apps one-time access to sensitive device permissions, such as location, microphone, and camera access.

Therefore, the APP needs to obtain permission again when accessing the sensor again. This feature is not new to Android. Similar functions were used when downloading APPs from the Google Play app store before.

Some apps may trigger similar permission pop-ups after installation or when accessing sensors for the first time, adding a layer of privacy protection for users.

Automatic reset of unused APP permissions

Automatic resetting of permissions for unused apps is a new feature introduced in Android 11. We can imagine a scenario where a user downloads an app and grants the permissions requested by the app, but has never used the app for several months. However, the app still has the possibility of accessing device hardware resources or data in the background based on the granted permissions, which poses a potential threat to the user's data security and privacy.

Android 11 permissions auto-reset

To address such threats, Android 11 introduces a new automatic permission reset feature that allows the operating system to automatically reset sensitive runtime permissions for apps that the user has not used for a long time.

Users can re-grant the permissions required by these apps when they use them again.

Fast patching via app store module

Although Google invites smartphone manufacturers to push security updates to users regularly, this does not help end users fix high-risk vulnerabilities before hackers exploit them.

Android patch update

In Android 11, Google has integrated the Google Play App Store APP into the device, allowing users to download and install important security updates through the App Store APP. In other words, Android 11 users can receive patches immediately after Google officially releases patches without having to wait for device manufacturers to release operating system-level updates.

Data Protection

Scoped storage enforcement was introduced in Android Q released last year to enhance data protection capabilities. In the latest Android 11, Google made some changes to Scoped Storage Enforcement. Because this feature is enabled by default for all apps, apps can protect and access their sandbox files in external storage without any special permissions.

Assuming that the APP requests storage-related permissions at runtime, it means that the APP is requesting a wider range of access to external storage.

Limit non-essential background location access

The most important privacy change in Android 11 is limiting apps’ access to the device’s background location.

Android background location

When an app requests permission to access the user's location, Android 11 will ensure that only the front-end location is granted first. If the app needs background location information, a separate permission request is required.

The second request requires the user to follow the steps below instead of blindly clicking ok. Therefore, the app cannot fetch and request more data.

To enable background location access, users must set the location permission option to "Allow all the time" in the app's settings page.

In addition, Google also requires Android app developers to explain why the APP needs background location access permissions.

This article is translated from: https://thehackernews.com/2020/09/android-11-security-privacy.html If reprinted, please indicate the original address