Android 16 – Google’s next operating system (OS) – was released in developer preview on Wednesday. According to a report, leaks about the update have now revealed that it may bring a new feature that will automatically hide sensitive notifications like OTP and two-factor authentication codes from the smartphone’s home screen. With this move, it may reportedly become more difficult for malicious apps to extract said information, potentially improving privacy.
Hidden notifications in Android 16
one in reportAndroid Authority’s Mishaal Rahman detailed the features discovered in Android 16 Developer Preview 1. According to the publication, Android system intelligence will be able to detect when notifications, considered “sensitive”, appear on the lock screen and automatically redact them without user intervention.
According to the report, sensitive notifications will still be hidden even if the Sensitive Notifications option is enabled in the device settings. If disabled, only the name of the app that sent the notification will appear on the lock screen. Android 16 Developer Preview 1 also reportedly adds a separate setting for lock screen notifications. Here, users can control which apps and devices read notifications and to what extent they are hidden.
The report suggests that a similar option was previously discovered in Android 15. It is said to take advantage of Android system intelligence that processes the information and checks for any sensitive content like two-factor authentication codes before passing it to the notification listener API. Only apps that are signed with a system certificate or play select roles will be allowed to read sensitive content in notifications.
android 16 release date
As per previous reports, Android 16 will be moved to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on June 3. Additionally, it will be made available as an over-the-air (OTA) update starting with Google Pixel devices. same day. Google has also confirmed that it will have a major Android release in the second quarter of 2025, followed by a smaller release in the fourth quarter.
