Why mobile network security changes in Android 15 are a no-show

Google finally rolled out the stable Android 15 update to Pixel devices today, bringing a slew of new features like private spaces, app archiving, predictive back animations, and more. However, the stable update does not include some of the features discovered during the Android 15 beta program, such as the device diagnostics app entry point in Settings and the new cellular security features that Google announced at I/O. yeah. . Here’s why the Android 15 update doesn’t include these new cellular security features.

To give you a little context, the first beta of Android 15 introduced a new settings page called “Cellular Network Security.” Settings > Security & Privacy > Security & Privacy Details. This page was later renamed to “.Mobile network security” Later in the beta version, the explanation “These settings help protect your calls, messages, and data from outdated or unencrypted networks that could expose you to data theft or surveillance.” has also been added.

The Mobile Network Security page had two toggles:network notification” and “Allow only encrypted networks” The “Network Notifications” feature allows you to “receive notifications when your device connects to an unencrypted network or when a network records your unique device or SIM ID.” The “Allow only encrypted networks” setting increases the security of your mobile network connection at the cost of limiting network options in some locations, but emergency calls still must pass through.

As Google explained to I/O, these phone security features are meant to be “defensive.”[ing] Prevent abuse by criminals who use mobile site simulators to spy on users and send fraudulent SMS-based messages. ” The technical terms for these Android 15 features are Cellular Cipher Transparency and Identifier Disclosure Transparency, and they are designed to protect users from rogue “Stingray” tracking devices.

While it’s true that these features are part of the Android 15 source code, they’re not available by default because they “require device OEM integration and compatible hardware,” according to Google. However, given that these features appeared to be available to Pixel users during the Android 15 beta, it’s reasonable to assume that Pixel phones will support these features. As it turns out, that’s not actually the case and it was just a mistake that caused the “Mobile Network Security” settings page to appear on Pixel smartphones.

It turns out that none of the current Pixel smartphones, not even the four phones in the Google Pixel 9 series, currently support Android 15’s new cellular security features. According to a post on the Issue Tracker, Google actually hid the Mobile Network Security settings page from Pixel users in Android 15 Beta 4, and made it invisible in searches in Android 15 Beta 4.2. In a now-deleted comment on the same Issue Tracker post, a Google employee clarified that mobile network security settings visibility in Android 15 is tied to hardware support.

This comment was made before the launch of the Pixel 9 series, leaving open the possibility that perhaps Google’s latest devices will support this feature. However, we confirmed today that after updating to Android 15, this page is no longer displayed on the Pixel 9 Pro either. However, Google’s references to hardware support may refer to wireless drivers/HALs, so this may change in future releases. Support that can be implemented with the help of your modem provider (Samsung).

Google told I/O that it is “working with the Android ecosystem to bring these features to our users” and is “looking forward to them.”[s] Adoption by OEMs will increase over the next two years. ” So we hope to see these new cellular security features actually make their way to some Android devices in the near future.