#Android 16 fixes a big privacy flaw in its 'approximate' #location setting

Android 16 quietly introduced a new feature called "density-based coarse locations" that makes the 'approximate' location setting more secure.

https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-density-based-coarse-locations-3614048/

UNPATCHED Critical #Vulnerability in ALL #Android

https://youtu.be/FDeMq8W4-sU

#Android 16 QPR1 has been released to AOSP finally

https://android.googlesource.com/platform/build/+/refs/heads/android16-qpr1-release

Keep Android Open
https://keepandroidopen.org

In August 2025, #Google announced that starting next year, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the #Android platform without first registering centrally with Google. This registration will involve:

Paying a fee to Google
Agreeing to Google’s Terms and Conditions
Providing government identification
Uploading evidence of the developer’s private signing key
Listing all current and future application identifiers
What this means for your rights
➤ You, the consumer, purchased your Android device believing in Google’s promise that it was an open computing platform and that you could run whatever software you choose on it. Instead, starting next year, they will be non-consensually pushing an update to your operating system that irrevocably blocks this right and leaves you at the mercy of their judgement over what software you are permitted to trust.

➤ You, the creator, can no longer develop an app and share it directly with your friends, family, and community without first seeking Google’s approval. The promise of Android — and a marketing advantage it has used to distinguish itself against the iPhone — has always been that it is “open”. But Google clearly feels that they have enough of a lock on the Android ecosystem, along with sufficient regulatory capture, that they can now jettison this principle with prejudice and impunity.

➤ You, the state, are ceding the rights of your citizens and your own digital sovereignty to a company with a track record of complying with the extrajudicial demands of authoritarian regimes to remove perfectly legal apps that they happen to dislike. The software that is critical to the running of your businesses and governments will be at the mercy of the opaque whims of a distant and unaccountable corporation.

How you can help: ...

Unremovable #ISRAELI #SPYWARE Embedded On Every #Samsung Phone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNYEZdGxD30
#why #Android

#Google alleges now that it will allow users to sideload #Android apps without verification
Article, Comments

The newly launched #Steam Frame with 8 gen 3 SOC comes with an #ARM version of Steam OS

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/vr-hardware/steamos-launching-for-arm-fex-translation-layer/


#Valve is welcoming #Android games into Steam

https://www.theverge.com/news/818672/valve-android-apps-steam-frame

#Android 17 is building a new #Contacts Picker to keep your address book private

https://www.androidauthority.com/android-17-contacts-picker-rumor-3615741/

#Google's new #AluminiumOS project brings #Android to #PC: Here's what we know

https://www.androidauthority.com/aluminium-os-android-for-pcs-3619092/

#Google Confirms #Android Attacks-No Fix for Most #Samsung Users
Article, Comments

#Android #Google Play preps upcoming "install without verifying" support

https://www.androidauthority.com/install-without-verifying-3633199/

#apk

An interesting little technical analisys of #airplane mode effectiveness on some major #android #phones:

https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/pubs/airplane_mode_report.pdf

Keep #Android Open

https://keepandroidopen.org

https://f-droid.org/2026/02/20/twif.html

During out talks with F-Droid users at FOSDEM26 we were baffled to learn most were relieved that #Google has canceled their plans to lock-down Android.

Why baffled? Because no such thing actually happened, the plans announced last August are still scheduled to take place. We see a battle of PR campaigns and whomever has the last post out remains in the media memory as the truth, and having journalists just copy/paste Google posts serves no one.

But Google said… Said what? That there’s a magical “advanced flow”? Did you see it? Did anyone experience it? When is it scheduled to be released? Was it part of Android 16 QPR2 in December? Of 16 QPR3 Beta 2.1 last week? Of Android 17 Beta 1? No? That’s the issue… As time marches on people were left with the impression that everything was done, fixed, Google “wasn’t evil” after all, this time, yay!

While we all have bad memories of “banners” as the dreaded ad delivery medium of the Internet, after FOSDEM we decided that we have to raise the issue back and have everyone, who cares about Android as an open platform, informed that we are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices.

Hence, the website and starting today our clients, with the updates of F-Droid and F-Droid Basic, feature a banner that reminds everyone how little time we have and how to voice their concerns to whatever local authority is able to understand the dangers of this path Android is led to.

We are not alone in our fight, IzzyOnDroid added a banner too, more F-Droid clients will add the warning banner soon and other app downloaders, like Obtainium, already have an in-app warning dialogue.

#why

https://keepandroidopen.org/open-letter/

Re: Mandatory Developer Registration for #Android App Distribution

Date: February 24, 2026
To: Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, #Google
To: Sergey Brin, Founder and Board Member, Google
To: Larry Page, Founder and Board Member, Google
To: Vijaya Kaza, General Manager for App & Ecosystem Trust, Google
CC: Regulatory authorities, policymakers, and the Android developer community

We, the undersigned organizations representing civil society, nonprofit institutions, and technology companies, write to express our strong opposition to Google’s announced policy requiring all Android app developers to register centrally with Google themselves in order to distribute applications outside of the Google Play Store, set to take effect worldwide in the coming months.

While we do recognize the importance of platform security and user safety, the Android platform already includes multiple security mechanisms that do not require central registration. Forcibly injecting an alien security model that runs counter to Android’s historic open nature threatens innovation, competition, privacy, and user freedom. We urge Google to withdraw this policy and work with the open-source and security communities on less restrictive alternatives.

Our Concerns
1. Gatekeeping Beyond Google’s Own Store

Android has historically been characterized as an open platform where users and developers can operate independently of Google’s services. The proposed developer registration policy fundamentally alters that relationship by requiring developers who wish to distribute apps through alternative channels — their own websites, third-party app stores, enterprise distribution systems, or direct transfers — to first seek permission from Google through a mandatory verification process, which involves the agreement to Google’s terms and conditions, the payment of a fee, and the uploading of government-issued identification.

This extends Google’s gatekeeping authority beyond its own marketplace into distribution channels where it has no legitimate operational role. Developers who choose not to use Google’s services should not be forced to register with, and submit to the judgement of, Google. Centralizing the registration of all applications worldwide also gives Google newfound powers to completely disable any app it wants to, for any reason, for the entire Android ecosystem.

2. Barriers to Entry and Innovation

Mandatory registration creates friction and barriers to entry, particularly for:

Individual developers and small teams with limited resources
Open-source projects that rely on volunteer contributors
Developers in regions with limited access to Google’s registration infrastructure
Privacy-focused developers who avoid surveillance ecosystems
Emergency response and humanitarian organizations requiring rapid deployment
Activists working on internet freedom in countries that unjustly criminalize that work
Developers in countries or regions where Google cannot allow them to sign up due to sanctions
Researchers and academics developing experimental applications
Internal enterprise and government applications never intended for broad public distribution
Every additional bureaucratic hurdle reduces diversity in the software ecosystem and concentrates power in the hands of large established players who can more easily absorb such compliance costs.

3. Privacy and Surveillance Concerns

Requiring registration with Google creates a comprehensive database of all Android developers, regardless of whether or not they use Google’s services. This raises serious questions about:

What personal information developers must provide
How this information will be stored, secured, and used
Whether this data could be subject to government requests or legal processes

📰 I replaced Android with a full Linux desktop on my old phone, and it's shockingly usable

Pocketblue, based on Fedora Atomic, is great on the OnePlus 6.

🔗 Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/replaced-android-full-linux-desktop-old-phone/

#linux #fedora #android

Major #MediaTek security flaw could expose data on millions of #Android phones

https://www.androidauthority.com/mediatek-chip-vulnerability-3648555/

AWAKE: A Guide to Android Attacks and Exploitation

I found a really awesome resource - AWAKE: Android Wiki of Attacks, Knowledge & Exploits - essentially a one-stop shop for those involved in malware analysis, reverse engineering, and vulnerability hunting on Android.

It includes descriptions of attack techniques, exploits, and methods for analyzing APKs and the platform itself. It's aimed at analysts, reverse engineers, penetration testers, and threat intelligence researchers.

In other words, it's not just abstract theory, but a very practical reference with specific details. What I particularly liked is the "offense-first" approach. Everything is presented from the attacker's perspective, not the defender's. For those of us involved in mobile security analysis, this is exactly what we need: understanding how attacks work so we can know how to defend against them. And as a reference for our own research - it's perfect!


#Android #Malware #Research #Security #Exploitation
@mobile_appsec_world

#waydroid in Linux is the best way to run Android apps on your PC, and it's not close

Running Android apps on my PC used to feel wrong, but Linux makes them feel right at home, and it's better than any Windows solution.

🔗 Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/linux-best-way-run-android-apps-on-pc-until-gaming/

#linux #android