Android 15 may have a feature that protects private information when sharing screens

The information has not yet been confirmed and was seen primarily within the code of the most recent beta version of Android 15, but the material makes mention of protection toolkits that, evidence indicates, could be used by applications to block specific sections of the recording, instead of closing access to the entire device screen.

According to Android Police, Android 15 could bring a new API that will make the operating system talk to the apps installed on it, using features such as Jetpack Compose, WebViewcustom virtual viewers, and other user interface tools.

The new beta code doesn’t make it clear exactly what apps will be able to do with all these tools, but it leaves signs that Android 15 will bring improved controls for standard features, such as hiding or even preventing notifications from being sent during screen sharing. , or that sensitive apps don’t even appear in the process.

Some of these resources already exist on Android 14: it was in the current version that Google implemented an alert to the user every time a participant in the recording takes a screenshot (“take a screenshot”, popularly speaking) during the exhibition. It also notifies users that someone is potentially recording their screen via an external app.

These APIs are implemented in the development of new apps, so each application can take the protection measure that is most appropriate to it: WhatsApp, for example, lets a screen recorder continue working, but the resulting video is completely dark. Telegram doesn’t even allow recording to start, and so on.

Naturally, it is not known when – or even “if” – the new measures will be included in Android 15, whether in the launch version or in subsequent updates. Google uses beta developments to test tools that may not even appear in commercial releases. But because this issue is intrinsically linked to user privacy, it is very likely that some form of it will appear, yes.

In any case, we’ll still have to wait a little to find out: Android 15 is only expected to be released in the third quarter of 2024,