4 essential facts about Android 16’s Advanced Protection security supermode

Well, I’ll be: Android 16 is officially here! (Or it’s available for device-makers to roll out as they see fit, at least. Choose your own adventure.) And the timing of the software’s arrival isn’t the only unusual thing about Google’s latest addition to its ever-expanding lineup of Android versions.

Android 16 sets the stage for the platform’s most dramatic reinvention in ages — with a whole new look and design language, a whole new system for multitasking, and a whole new way to use your phone as a computer (quite literally).

But, in a befuddling twist, most of the more substantial advances won’t actually be present in this initial Android 16 rollout. Rather, they’re being developed as part of a future update that’ll land within either an upcoming quarterly release or potentially even the Android 17 release scheduled for this fall. (More confusing yet, some of those elements are already visible for folks enrolled in Google’s Android beta program, which is currently focused on the next quarterly update but sometimes includes features for future versions, too — head spinning yet?)

On the surface, this initial Android 16 update isn’t exactly astonishing. But aside from all of its foundational work for the more exciting changes to come, this new software sports a slew of significant security enhancements that may not jump out and wow you but will absolutely make a meaningful difference in the ever-important area of personal and professional data protection.

Perhaps most significant is a new all-encompassing Android security supermode called Advanced Protection. It’s a simple, single-switch setup that brings all of the most secure Android-operating-system-level options onto your device in an instant.

I’ve been experimenting with Android 16’s Advanced Protection system for a while now on my own personal Pixel phone. Here’s everything you need to know about the new setup, what exactly it does, and how it fits into the broader Android security picture.

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Android 16 Advanced Protection fact #1: A single switch does a lot

The main thing to know about Advanced Protection in Android 16 is that it is, quite literally, just one switch within a new area of your system settings.

In Google’s standard Android interface, as seen on Pixels, it’s an added section within the main Security & Privacy settings section. Once you tap that section, you see just that single toggle — along with a bunch of supplementary text and explainers:

The Android 16 Advanced Security control panel, as seen on a Google Pixel phone.JR Raphael, Foundry

All there is to activating it and opting in is tapping that toggle once to flip it into the on position. Doesn’t get much easier than that.

Android 16 Advanced Protection fact #2: The same bundle is available a la carte

While Advanced Protection is an important addition, all it’s actually doing is making it easy to activate a bunch of advisable Android security settings in one fell swoop.

Specifically, Advanced Protection enables:

Extra theft protection — via Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock, a pair of Android security additions that came into the mix for most Android devices last fall. They use your phone sensors to look for indications of a device having fallen into the wrong hands and then automatically lock the thing if and when any such scenario arises.

Enhanced app protection — with Android’s Google Play Protect on-demand scanning system in place, alongside a more locked-down approach to app installations that allows downloads only from the official Play Store (and any other preloaded app stores on your device) as well as a feature called Memory Tagging Extension that makes it less likely for an app to be able to corrupt your device’s memory in the unlikely event that it were to be in a position to do so.

Smarter web protection — with live scanning for browser-based threats, forcing of the more secure HTTPS encrypted web standard, and additional protections around Javascript processing within Chrome.

Advanced calling and messaging protection — with real-time scanning and warnings about likely scams and spam within Google Messages, detection of and warnings about unsafe links that could be connected to phishing attempts in incoming texts, and a trio of spam detection, scam detection, and call screening systems for incoming calls in the Google Phone app.

Heightened network protection — with your phone actively rejecting any less secure 2G-level network connections that may come along over time.

Notably, all of those features could also be activated individually, via various options scattered across the Android system settings and the associated core Google Android apps. The main advantage of Advanced Protection is really just simplification and having it all happen via that one single switch instead of having to seek out (and know about!) each individual option on your own, one by one, each and every time you set up a new device.

Android 16 Advanced Protection fact #3: There’s more to come

Moving forward, it seems Google’s goal is to keep Advanced Protection updated with all of the latest Android security features that come into the mix over time — meaning that once you activate it, you don’t have to keep thinking about manually activating any new options as they arrive and can instead just know that Advanced Protection will handle it for you.

Already, a small handful of specific still-in-the-works features is confirmed to be bundled into Advanced Protection as each of the new options becomes available (supposedly sometime “later this year,” in the typically vague Google vernacular):

Inactivity Reboot: An incoming option that’ll automatically restart your device anytime it remains locked for 72 consecutive hours — thus suggesting you aren’t actively using it for one reason or another — and re-encrypting all your data so it’ll be accessible only after a full password or pattern unlock.

Intrusion Logging: A privacy-minded feature that securely stores logs of sensitive system actions in the cloud, encrypted and connected solely to your Google account, so you could seek out answers if something suspicious were ever to happen on your device.

USB Protection: Setting your phone’s USB port to allow only charging by default instead of active data transfers — to prevent anyone from being able to physically plug a drive into the device and transfer files off the phone without your knowledge (unlikely as that may be to occur).

Disable Auto-Reconnect to Insecure Networks: Exactly as its name suggests, your phone won’t ever automatically reconnect to a network that isn’t secure, even if you manually ask to connect to such a network once.

Android 16 Advanced Protection fact #4: All of this is still only part of the picture

While Advanced Protection makes it much easier to enable all the most advisable Android security settings, even that is just one piece of an optimal Android security puzzle.

First and foremost, you might’ve noticed that the name of this program feels familiar. (If so, good job! Go get yourself a cookie and/or slushie treat, preferably chocolate chip and blue, respectively.) That’s because Google also offers an all-around account-protecting program called Advanced Protection.

That program is a bit more intense in what it does, and — unlike this new Android-specific equivalent — by design isn’t intended for everyone. It requires you to rely on physical security keys anytime you sign into your Google account, for instance, and it severely limits the ways in which third-party apps can connect to your account — steps that are smart for people in higher-profile or more at-risk positions but may be overly restrictive for other, more ordinary Android-owning animals.

But the two programs are very much meant to be complementary, and if it both make sense for you to be using, they very much go hand in hand in their forms of heightened protection — for your Android device and your Google account, respectively.

Either way, though, there are steps you should absolutely be taking to ensure the security of your Google account — and similarly, there’s a sprawling series of steps and best-practice reminders you should be revisiting regularly specific to Android security.

These steps go above and beyond what even Advanced Protection can do for you, and they’re important to assess and consider once annually, at a minimum.

✅ My 18-step Android security checkup is a one-stop, regularly evolving checklist where you can see exactly what you should be focusing on at any given moment in the Android arena. Bookmark it, set yourself a reminder, and revisit it once a year.

And remember: Android security is far less scary than it’s frequently made out to be, but it’s also an area that requires a healthy pinch of common sense and careful thinking. Luckily, it doesn’t take a ton of effort to keep yourself protected. It just takes the teensiest sliver of effort and awareness.

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