Android 14 To Start Fully Blocking Installation Of Apps That Target Outdated Android Versions
Android says it’s on a mission to beef up its security in terms of
reducing malware. For this reason, Android 14 is going to completely
block out all of those applications that target outdated versions of the
device.
For several years now, we’ve been witnessing the Google
Play Store Guidelines remain updated so that all developers keep apps
updated too. The whole idea is to use the latest features and best
safety protocols on this particular platform.
In January, the
Google Play Store updated its guidelines so that all newly enlisted apps
across the Play Store would only be able to target Android 12, at a
bare minimum.
Up until this point in time, the minimal API level
rules have been restricted to the likes of Google’s Play Store. In case
one developer wants to make an app that’s for the older version of
Android, they may choose to do so by simply asking users to sideload APK
files through manual means.
In case one Android app wasn’t
updated as per the routine protocol of changed guidelines, then this
Play Store would continue to serve that particular application for those
that installed it in the past.
As per code changes that were
recently published, Android 14 is all geared up to make this API
regulation much stricter. This means completely blocking out the
installation of such outdated applications. This means such a change
would prevent users from loading particular APK files while blocking app
stores from downloading similar apps.
At the start, the Android
14 device would only be seen blocking out applications that particularly
target older Android versions. With time, they do hope to enhance the
threshold so it reaches Android 6.0. Remember, Google does have an
in-built mechanism to ramp that up further. But at the end of the day,
it’s totally the device’s producer what threshold would be suitable for
older apps or if it would be enabled at all.
If the minimal
downloaded SDK version for enforcement gets rolled out, the app
installation can be blocked by making use of SDK versions that are lower
targets than that needed. This would ensure better privacy and security
features. As experts rightly point out, malware has the tendency to
target older versions of SDK which prevents enforcement of such API
behavior.
By
blocking these older applications, Google hopes to prevent the spread
of malware platforms seen on Android. Moreover, developers responsible
for such changes claim that some apps are only designed to target older
Android versions so they can be bypassed. Even security restrictions in
place are overcome as they’re mostly linked to new applications. Hence
this way, older apps aren’t really looked at much.
But if you do
wish to install an older app, you can still do that through a common
shell via the likes of a new flag. This would certainly need a few extra
steps and it’s highly unlikely that a person would do this by accident
and end up installing malware without knowing.
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H/T: 9to5G m