Android 15 could benefit from a new privacy option to hide sensitive content when sharing your device’s screen. This would be a great help in preventing accidental notifications or messages leaking while presenting from your phone.
Android allows you to share the content of your screen, which is quite practical. However, there is no option to block things like notifications or incoming messages while doing this. There is therefore always a risk of potential leakage of sensitive content. That said, Mishaal Rahman spotted something interesting in Android 15 Beta 1.1.
According to Android Police’s report, the latest Android 15 beta includes references to “Sensitive Content Protection” when sharing your screen. As the name suggests, this would prevent notifications, private messages, or content from leaking in these situations. Currently, the feature is not functionally implemented in the operating system. However, the references identified provide clues as to how it works.
The option to hide sensitive content when sharing screens that Android 15 could get
Once implemented, the feature would bring a new API to manage UI toolkits such as Jetpack Compose, WebView and others. While it’s not yet clear what capabilities the API will offer, it could hide specific screen elements or sections so that they don’t appear when you share your device’s screen. Additionally, there is a flag for “sensitive notification app protections” which would also block app notifications.
At this time, it is unclear how the operating system will determine which applications are “sensitive.” It would be very helpful if Android allowed you to define which specific apps require this type of protection.
It is worth noting that some OEMs have already implemented similar functionality on their devices. Xiaomi is one of them, allowing you to share your screen with complete peace of mind: no private or compromising notifications will appear while you do so. However, Android AOSP receiving a similar tool would be great news for everyone as it would be available to many more people.
Its implementation is not yet 100% secure
It’s important to note that even the source doesn’t guarantee that the feature will be available in Android 15. With this type of feature in the early stages of development, anything can happen. We may have to wait years for its implementation, or even abandon it before it happens. Regardless, we will likely see further developments in this regard in the coming months.
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April 23, 2024