It is a reality that cybercriminals are constantly improving their techniques, and devising new strategies, to overcome the cybersecurity borders of the devices that connect to the network. Therefore, these defenses must also be constantly improved. Android, the world’s leading operating system provider, with more than 3 billion active devices, knows this well. So, each new version comes better equipped to combat malware and any other threat. And, in the case of Android 13 and 14, a new feature was introduced.
This is the Restricted Configuration function, which is intended to increase the security of the device taking into account a series of parameters. Once these are analyzed at the moment, the risk to which the device is subjected is determined and the appropriate contingency measures that this system must undertake. That is, this time it is the system that makes the decisions, instead of the user.
One of the most common activities among users is to download applications directly to the device in use. When this happens, the system sends an alert to the individual to inform them of which functions of the terminal to which said application is requesting access. For example, the camera, location, notifications, among many others. At that moment, the user is responsible for deciding which ones to activate and which ones not to activate. Or what is the same, what type of tools on the device allows said application to control. A decision that can even be reversed at any time, you just have to go to the Settings section.
However, this does not happen with Android operating systems versions 13 and 14. The main difference is that the user is not the one who makes the decision, but rather the operating system itself. When users install applications from APK files, Android will determine whether or not to grant permissions that are considered dangerous. If the risk analyzed by the system is sufficient, it will directly restrict them. And it is not something that the user can modify, as in the previous case. Even if you decide to access the settings to change it, what will appear will be a ”Restricted configuration” message, alerting you that it cannot be modified.
Specifically, there are two especially dangerous aspects that Android 13 and 14 will not hesitate to restrict if necessary. These are accesses to Accessibility and device notifications, due to the risk it implies for the user’s privacy and the security of their device. Through these two types of access, malware could access the user’s information present on the terminal.