Concerns over privacy now weigh heavily on the minds of anyone using a computer or smartphone. Well-publicized tales of data breaches and security flaws haven’t built much confidence in users. People aren’t abandoning exactly abandoning the internet or throwing out their mobile devices, but they are making demands of the tech industry. Due to recent responses from the industry, some confidence may soon be restored. According to The Verge, a major security improvement has just been instituted with the Android operating system. Apps on Android P will no longer be able to track network activity.
Previously, one Android app had the ability to keep track of another app’s online activity. How this inexcusable flaw was allowed to exist remains a mystery. Then again, there may not be much of a mystery to the reason why. People continued to download apps and use them with the security flaw in place. The complaints that did exist probably were not sufficient enough for Google and others to care about. Things do change, and tech companies do panic. The recent controversy that has surrounded Facebook created a public relations nightmare for the social media giant. A desire to avoid problems likely led to the decision to shore up security issues with Android P.
Why did this take so long? The powers that be likely didn’t exactly see the flaw as a flaw. Rather, the flaw was viewed as both opportunity and an important internal feature.
The idea behind one app monitoring another app’s connection to the internet has a root in marketing research. Consider the following scenario: what if an app user is connecting to a competing app? What happens when the originally preferable app finds itself being used less? Consider that a reversal of fortune for an app that was once popular. The information gleaned from the monitoring app can then be integrated into a future marketing campaign. This way, users can be drawn back from the competitor.
The monitoring feature here may be wonderful for app developers, but people using their smartphones probably won’t be thrilled about secretive monitoring. Monitoring comes with an obvious hole in the security of the operating system. Unless that hole is patched, the possibility exists that it can be exploited. Considering the massive numbers of people who use Android, such a security flaw cannot be allowed to continue.
New changes are in the pipeline.
