- By Prateek Levi
- Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:25 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Android 16 feature: We all have been witness to the rising cases of online and mobile scams, and in recent times such scams have been on the rise and with the ever-growing development and advancement of AI it has become easier for scammers to even impersonate people, it can be someone you know or your family members as well. To put a halt to such scams. Android 16, the next upcoming version of Google's smartphone operating system, is going to feature a new security function that will help in the prevention of such scams and will not let users change settings when on a call.
Scammers often take control of your phone by deceiving users into sideloading malware-infected or remote control apps, guiding them through the process. However, with Android 16, Google intends to disable sideloading, a method that lets users install apps not available on the Play Store without scanning them for malware.
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While the new feature is likely to prevent users from sideloading apps during calls, this is not a completely air-tight solution, since scammers can always ask them to install the app after they hang up the phone. However, what this does is disrupt the flow of conversation and might give the chance to the user to think twice about the suspicious activity.
On top of that Google has stated that the Android 16 will also disable accessibility services during active phone calls, apart from blocking sideloading of apps, as it is another tool used by scammers/hackers, as they enable them to read screen content and gain control of the device. As part of the Advanced Protection features introduced with Android 15, these new functionalities are currently available in Android 16 Beta 2, and are expected to be included in the final version of the operating system as well.
Last year during the rollout of the Android 15, the tech behemoth added a slew of features that made it difficult for scammers/hackers to use malicious apps by automatically disabling sensitive permissions for the apps that are not listed on the Play Store or downloaded from sources that can not be trusted.