Android P to Focus Heavily on Privacy Features

• Android P will be showcased in the upcoming Google I/O 2018.
• It is expected that the new update for the popular mobile OS will be focused on privacy.
• Other features that have been teased include under the hood upgrades, notification handling, screen notch adaptations and more unannounced features.

With the Google I/O Conference 2018 almost here, Android P is one of the biggest announcements scheduled for the event. The new iteration of Android will include new features like an enhanced notification system and screen notch adaptations. However, privacy enhancements may be the biggest draw of the OS.

With enough controversy surrounding the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, there are many concerns people have when it comes to using online services. Google is one of the biggest companies in the world that offers a suite of online services including Maps, Gmail, Drive and more. Android comes with all of these apps installed out of the box and are heavily used by users of the platform. Android P including enhanced security measures to ensure user data is handled safely could reinstate hope in users when it comes to using online services.

Image Courtesy of 9to5 Google

There are also direct links to the Facebook scandal and Google. The data that was leaked through Facebook includes call records and SMS data of Android users, but not of iPhone users. Facebook’s app is allowed to ask for permission for the data on Android, but iOS does not allow the same.

Data security and protection need to be focused on by Google to prevent the malicious attack. Google has already been accused of poor security. Google has an internal team called ‘Project Zero’ that identifies and weeds out vulnerabilities on the platform. However, the efforts by the company have been very slow, and there are inconsistencies in how security patches are pushed out across manufacturers.

Android OEMs are also known to lie about the security of their devices, and Android P could change that. If the security patches would be pushed out by Google directly instead of relying on manufacturers to manually push them out across updates, it could benefit Android users greatly. While there have been no specifics on what security updates Android P has to offer, we can only hope the platform receives better user data handling and protection.