Google is working on a new privacy feature to help users prevent leaking their personal information. The new feature could arrive with Android 15, which is expected to roll out by the second half of 2024. The upcoming operating system will have a feature, which will hide the part of the screen containing password fields or sensitive notifications when users will share their screens. The tech giant is also likely to allow users to disable this feature on their Android smartphone.
The feature was first spotted by Android Police, which reports that the latest Android 15 Beta 1.1 has a new toggle in the Developer options menu named "Disable screen share protections". The toggle's description indicates that the feature will disable system protections for sensitive app content when the user shares their screen in the future. However, the feature is not yet enabled by Google on the latest Android 15 beta.
The publication also reported about a new API that was found on the latest Android 15 beta release. This API will allow apps with custom virtual views, WebView, and Jetpack Compose to access a sensitive content protection feature. This feature could be used to block sensitive information, such as passwords or email addresses, from being displayed on specific fields of the screen.
It is not yet clear how Android 15 will determine what parts of the screen to obscure during a screen-sharing session. Currently, the feature is disabled on Android 15 Beta 1.1, which means that users who have flashed the first public beta on their Pixel phones cannot test it. The feature may be enabled on Android 15 Beta 2 or could be unveiled by the company at Google I/O in May before it is rolled out to beta testers.
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