Home › News ›

Android L to Have Encryption Turned On By Default

Sep 18, 2014, 6:11 PM by Eric M. Zeman

Google today said that encryption will be turned on automatically in the next release of Android, which is expected to arrive next month. Encryption will make it harder for law enforcement to access user data on such devices. "For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," said company spokeswoman Niki Christoff to the Washington Post. "As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on." With encryption turned on, only those who enter the correct password will be able to gain access the device and the information stored on it, such as photos and videos. New devices that ship with Android L will benefit from this immediately. In the mean time, Android device owners can turn on encryption manually in the settings menu. Earlier this week, Apple said it took similar steps with the latest release of its mobile operating system, iOS8, which is also encrypted.

Related

Pebblebee's New Trackers Work with Both Apple and Google Find My Networks

Oct 1, 2024
Peeblebee has launched a new lineup of "Universal" Bluetooth item-tracking tags that are the first to be compatible with both Apple Find My and Google's Android Find My Device networks. The $35 tags are rechargeable and come in three form factors: Tag, Card, and Clip.

Major Update to Google Messages Brings iPhone-Compatible Emoji Reactions

Mar 10, 2022
Google today started rolling out a major update to its Messages app, the default SMS and RCS messaging app on most new Android phones. It includes several major new features, but the biggest for most people may be automatic conversion and tidier display of emoji reactions from iPhone users .

Verizon Tweaks Plans, Adding True Unlimited + More Hotspot Data

Jan 5, 2022
Verizon has made a handful of changes to its unlimited plans, giving some customers a better value. The basic structure and pricing remain unchanged, but some plans now come with more data.

Google Making Maps Location History Private, Even from Police

Dec 15, 2023
Google is changing how Maps stores your location history, moving it on-device by default and encrypting it when saved to the cloud. This change means even Google can't access that data, which also means Google will no longer be able to respond to "geo-fence" warrants from police wanting to know who was in a given area at a given time.

Apple Refines Anti-Stalking Features of AirTags

Feb 10, 2022
Apple is making a number of tweaks to the Find My system that powers AirTags. Specifically, Apple is aiming to improve the various features designed to prevent AirTags from being used to stalk people or track other people's belongings without their permission.

more news about:

Comments

This forum is closed.

This forum is closed.

poncho524

Sep 22, 2014, 8:49 AM

Still doesn't prevent snooping

While data ON the phone might be encrypted, any data stored in the "cloud" is still unprotected. And this still allows the "cloud" providers (Google) to snoop all they want.

GMail is not encrypted. Google has no interest in really protecting your privacy, because they need/want to snoop. Its how they sell advertising.

It is unfortunate, because Google could really push email encryption into the mainstream if they wanted. And I really wish they did.

T Bone

It won't prevent it completely,probably nothing will, but it will deter all but the most committed hackers. I mean....if you have a choice of two targets, one which is encrypted and therefore requires some effort to crack, and another which has no en...
(continues)

Page 1 of 1