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Android 11's auto-reset permissions feature is rolling out to devices running Android 6.0 and above
Android 11's auto-reset permissions feature is rolling out to devices running Android 6.0 and above through Google Play Protect.
Google introduced a new auto-reset permissions feature with Android 11 to automatically revoke sensitive runtime permissions from apps that have not been in use for a few months. In September last year, the company announced that it would bring the feature to devices running older versions of Android starting December 2021. However, Google pushed the initial rollout back by a month in December and promised to bring the feature to devices running Android 6.0 and above by the end of Q1 2022. As promised, Google has started rolling it out to devices running Android 6.0 and above through Google Play Protect.
Google is trying to limit what apps can use an Accessibility Service (again)
Google is once again trying to limit which apps can use the Accessibility Service API. Read on to learn more.
Android offers an Accessibility Service API that exposes certain system events to apps. The API is incredibly powerful, as it lets apps listen for events such as when a user clicks on a link, views a window, and much more. As its name suggests, the API is only meant for apps that solve an accessibility need, but it has been misused by malicious apps in the past. Due to this, Google once tried to restrict apps from using the API back in 2017. And the company is now trying to do it again.
Dolphin Emulator devs warn of limited functionality due to Android's Scoped Storage changes
Dolphin Emulator developers warn of limited functionality due to Android's Scoped Storage Changes. Read on to learn more.
Android's Scoped Storage rules have been a major point of contention among app developers. While Scoped Storage is undoubtedly needed to reduce how much access apps have to a user's private files, its implementation fundamentally changes how apps can access your phone's internal storage, creating several limitations for a wide range of apps in the process. For instance, the developers behind Dolphin Emulator, which is the most popular open-source emulator for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii, have now warned that the emulator will offer limited functionality due to the Scoped Storage changes introduced in Android 11.
Descendant X custom ROM for the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Mi 9 adds "Guardia," a background permission monitor
Descendant X custom ROM by XDA Senior Member Dil3mm4 adds a nifty background permission monitor called Guardia. Read on to know more!
The open, no-walled-garden design of Android gives users the freedom of customization. Thanks to the vibrant aftermarket development community, Android users can enjoy plenty of features that are otherwise not implemented by Google or OEMs. Take the example of Android's new advanced permission management control system called Permissions Hub— something that was present in early leaked Android Q builds but Google didn't ship in public releases. The relevant code snippets do still exist in AOSP, which have later been forked by the LineageOS team, and now it is accessible to regular users via LineageOS 17.1. XDA Senior Member Dil3mm4 has now taken another shot at enhancing the permission mechanism in their own way. Dubbed "Guardia", the new background permission monitor is part of the latest build of their custom ROM, Descendant X.
LineageOS is dropping its own superuser implementation, making Magisk the de facto solution
LineageOS 17 will no longer recommend its own addonsu package, making Magisk and Magisk manager the de facto choice for superuser binary and management.
LineageOS is one of the most popular custom ROMs available for Android devices, if not the most popular custom ROM out there. This custom ROM takes Android as found on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and adds its own flavor on top of it. A lot of custom ROMs tend to then adopt LineageOS as their own base, so any major change that LineageOS undertakes for itself tends to propagate throughout the custom ROM community. The developers behind LineageOS are aware of this repercussion and make informed decisions accordingly. The upcoming release of LineageOS is significantly changing how root access is handled, as the ROM is dropping support for its own addonsu binary in favor of Magisk.
Google will make file manager devs submit a form to get broad file storage access in Android 11
In order to bolster security, Google will require file manager developers to submit a form to get broad file storage access in Android 11.
The Android 10 beta 2 released earlier this year revealed that Google was planning to limit the way apps can access your phone's internal storage. For this purpose, Google introduced something called Scoped Storage. However, due to backlash from several developers, the company had to backtrack on its implementation. The company allowed apps that don't yet target Android 10 to work as they used to and gave developers time until November 1st, 2020 to update their apps to target Android 10.
Google will remove unapproved apps that use call log/SMS permissions in the next few weeks
Google hasa announced that they will remove unapproved apps that stil use call log/SMS permissions in the next few weeks.
Keeping your personal data safe and secure is vital to the success of Android. If the platform gets a reputation for revealing sensitive data to other apps then it will make people feel wary about getting an Android phone. This was the point of the permissions system and Google has refined it over the years into the granular option we have today. Late last year, Google announced that they would be restricting which applications on the Play Store had access to the call log and SMS permissions. These are integral to the way certain apps work and Google decided not to give the user the choice to deny or allow access.
New permission group in Android P makes it clear when apps want to read call log or phone number
New permission group in Android P makes it clear when apps want to read your call log or phone numbers so that you know what exactly apps are doing.
Android Developer Preview 3 (Android P Beta 2) just dropped, and with it comes a number of changes—mostly under the hood. While there are some user-facing changes, nearly all the changes are in preparation for the final release. The biggest part of the update is the finalized APIs, which means that you can build an application now targeting API 28, Android P. In Developer Preview 3, a new permission group has been added. This permission group pertains specifically to the Android call log, meaning that when an application wants to read your call log or phone numbers, a prominent, user-facing message will display telling them exactly what kind of access they are granting an app.
How to Stop Apps from Reading the Android Clipboard to Protect your Privacy
How to stop apps from reading the Android clipboard without root. Now you can copy and paste text without worrying that apps will steal your data!
Rather than typing or swiping on your keyboard, sometimes it is easier to just cut, copy, and paste some text. If you want to enter some long pieces of text such as an address, password, or website link, using Android's copy and paste feature certainly beats having to precisely type each character out. But Android's clipboard is notoriously insecure because any app on your phone can read from it without your permission, so it's generally recommended that you never copy any sensitive data. Today, I'm going to show you how to protect your privacy by stopping apps from reading the Android clipboard.
How to Stop Pokemon Go (or other apps) From Stealing Audio Focus
A tutorial to stop Pokemon Go (and other apps) from stealing audio focus without root. Prevents Play Music, Spotify, and PocketCasts from stopping playback!
Despite dwindling in popularity, Pokemon Go still has a ton of fans playing the game every day. Although most of the game's issues have been related to cheating, there are other, more minor ones that annoy existing users. One such issue is related to audio focus in Android. Users who like to listen to music or podcasts when playing Pokemon Go find that audio playback immediately halts when they launch the game. This requires users to manually restart playback on their favorite media app such as Google Play Music, Spotify, or PocketCasts. Today, I'm going to show you how to stop Pokemon Go (or any other app) from stealing permanent audio focus - without root.
How to Stop Vibrations from Any Android App on Your Phone
A tutorial on how to stop vibrations from any Android app on your phone using a simple ADB command. Eliminate vibrating ads and unwanted game vibrations.
Online advertisements continue finding new ways to annoy the crap out of you. For the past few years, one particular form of online advertisements have plagued mobile devices: the vibrating ad. Using the Vibration API, advertisements have been vibrating your phone to annoyingly grab your attention. This issue has been known for years, but Google was very slow to resolve the issue. Only with Chrome version 60 are vibrating advertisements done away with, but as of now version 60 is only available in the Beta, Dev, and Canary channels of Chrome. However, there's actually a way to manually stop vibrations from any Android app on your phone - without completely putting your phone into silent mode. That means you won't have to wait for application developers to update their apps so they can't vibrate your phone.
What we at XDA once envisioned as a proof of concept security vulnerability has now been confirmed by computer scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The team details what they call "cloak and dagger" exploits which can take over the UI of most versions of Android (including 7.1.2). Given it's nature, it is difficult to fix and also difficult to detect.
How Tapjacking Made a Return with Android Marshmallow -- and Nobody Noticed
Certain Marshmallow devices are susceptible to tapjacking, where an app overlays text on top of a permission dialog to trick the user.
While many of us salivate over the newly released Android Nougat for Nexus devices, the vast majority of users are still on Android Marshmallow. An exploit the existence of which has been documented since at least the middle of 2015 is still affecting many modern Android devices.
The Sorry State of Android Fragmentation: An Example to Understand Developers' Plight
The average Android user has probably long since stopped caring about Android's "fragmentation problem." But the issue is still haunting developers.
Fragmentation has been a contentious issue in Android quite literally since the mobile operating system was announced.
NetGuard Gives You Back Control Over Apps' Internet Access, Without Root!
If you want to get control of internet access permissions again, look no further. NetGuard has you covered even if you aren't rooted, and it's easy to use!
One of the changes introduced with Android Lollipop (5.0) was the removal of the dedicated Internet permission on Android. At the time, there was some attention drawn to the changes, but users were still free to use root access to install a firewall, and block individual apps.