A16s

Encryption and back up​

Your data is protected using advanced end-to-end encryption, available on all new Android devices. This type of encryption uses your device’s lock screen pin, pattern or password to make sure that nobody other than you can access or steal your data while it’s backed up to the cloud.​

Regular security updates​

Every month, Google publishes Android Security updates that provide fixes for possible issues affecting your Android device. Your device also receives regular Google Play System Updates that automatically upgrade system components and fix bugs, seamlessly, so that you can worry less.

Permissions auto-reset

If you haven't used an app in a while, you may not want it to keep accessing your data. Android will reset permissions for your unused apps. You can always turn permissions back on.​

One-time permissions

Give one-time permissions to apps that need your mic, camera or location. The next time the app needs access, it must ask for permission again.​

Safe Browsing

Safe Browsing on Android lets you explore the web with confidence, and helps defend you from dangerous websites and malicious files whether you're on a browser or browsing the web from a social media app. We try to warn you if you try to navigate to a bad website or download a harmful file, and redirect you to safety so that you're less likely to encounter malware or a phishing scam.​

Google Play Protect app store malware vetting​

Google Play Protect analyzes potentially harmful apps before you download them, so you can worry less whether they’ll hurt your phone or steal your sensitive data.​

Google Play Protect daily app scanning​

Google Play Protect is built-in malware protection that works to keep your Android device clean and your data safe. Backed by Google's machine learning, it's always adapting and improving. Every day, Google Play Protect automatically scans all of the apps on Android phones and works to prevent the installation of harmful apps, making it the most widely deployed mobile threat protection service in the world.

Always-on spam detection

Built-in spam protection keeps you safe and helps you avoid spammers and scammers. Phone by Google warns you about suspicious callers before you pick up, and Messages by Google prevents over 1.5 billion spam messages each month from ever reaching your inboxes.​

App sandboxing

Android isolates the apps on your device so that they have limited ability to interact with each other and with the operating system. With app sandboxing, we help prevent apps from doing malicious things, like accessing certain information you don't want them to access.​

Cleared clipboard history​

Android 13 has safeguards built-in to help protect your personal data. Like when an app accesses your clipboard, you’ll not only get an alert, but your clipboard history will also be cleared after a period of time to prevent unwanted access.​

Privacy dashboard

Privacy dashboard gives you a clear and comprehensive view of when apps have accessed your location, camera or mic over the past 24 hours. If you see anything that you’re not comfortable with, you can manage permissions right from the dashboard.​

Camera, microphone, and clipboard indicators

You can see a live indicator when apps are accessing your microphone or camera. Android also notifies you every time an app reads from your clipboard.​

Find my device​

One of the biggest security risks you’re likely to face is simply losing your phone. Find My Device has you covered in that time of need. With Find My Device, you can locate, ring, lock, and or erase your Android devices — phones, tablets, and even watches. This feature is built in and enabled on all devices, and you can use it through on the web or with the app.​

Data Safety Section

You can check out the Data Safety section in Google Play to understand what types of data that apps collect and why that data is collected — such as if data collection is optional, required, or if it's shared with third-parties. That way, you can better understand which apps to download.​

Payment security​

Google Pay protects your payment info on your Android device with industry-leading security to help keep your account safe. And when you pay in-store, Google Pay doesn’t share your actual card number, so your information stays secure.​

Mic & camera toggles​

Android offers quick switches to turn off mic and camera access for all apps on your device. You can completely disable those sensors using two toggles in quick settings. Simply flip the switch.​

Runtime permissions​

Apps that need permission to access certain things — like your location or camera — request that permission when the app utilizes that feature. This prevents an app from gaining access to certain data without your consent, and gives you context and visibility about the permissions that are being requested. For some permissions, you can even select more granular settings that only work once or while you're using the app.​

Location controls

With Android, you can control when your location is shared with apps: always, while in use, or never. If an app has access to your location all the time, you’ll receive a notification to remind you.​

Private Compute Core

Powerful Android features like Live Caption and Now Playing are enabled by continuous streams of data like audio from your apps, sounds nearby, or the content on your screen. But this data can be highly sensitive and you might not want it to leave your phone.

It's essential that we build these features in a privacy-preserving way, so we built Private Compute Core. It's a first-of-its-kind secure mobile environment that is isolated from the rest of the operating system and your apps. Any information processed in Private Compute Core requires explicit user action before it can be shared with Google or any app or service. And like the rest of Android, the protections in Private Compute Core are open source and fully inspectable and verifiable by the security community.​

Approximate location

While some apps need precise location information for tasks like turn-by-turn navigation, many other apps only need your approximate location to be helpful. With Android, you can choose between giving apps access to your precise location or an approximate location instead.

Photo picker​

Instead of sharing your entire media library with apps, you can select only the photos and videos they’ll need to access. *Works with compatible apps.​