Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Android 16’s Advanced Protection is getting new useful features. We’ve discovered an under-development interface that will list all the apps that are aware of Advanced Protection being turned on. Besides Google apps, the feature will also include third-party apps that can access the state of Advanced Protection. With the rollout of Android 16 earlier this year, Google introduced an “Advanced Protection” mode that enables high-security features on Android devices. It prevents any apps from being sideloaded onto your phone, blocks USB access, and disables insecure connections to fend off risks of data theft or malware attacks. At the time of its launch, Google detailed how system apps would be able to leverage the mode and activate any lockdown features needed to prevent unauthorized access, noting that third-party apps would also be able to use the functionality. Now, Google appears to be testing a new interface for Advanced Protection, which will allow users to identify which apps know when the feature is enabled. We recently learned that Google is testing a new option in Settings > Security and privacy > Advanced protection, which will list all the apps that can check whether the feature is turned on. The code hinting at this functionality went live with version 25.33.32 beta of the Google Play Services, but it isn’t available yet. However, we were able to tinker our way through to activating it. The new option appears at the bottom of this page and opens to a new section that lists all the apps that can check whether Advanced protection is enabled on your device, allowing them to enable their own safeguards. Currently, we only see Google’s own apps, such as Chrome, Play Store, Messages, and Phone, in the list, though it will also list third-party apps that incorporate the necessary API (application programming interface). Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a preferred source in Google Search to support us and make sure you never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more. The lack of third-party apps in the list could simply mean that other publishers are not yet using the safeguards. Alternatively, it could also mean that the list cannot accurately scan for apps using the API since the interface is still under development. We aren’t sure which is the case at the moment. We expect to see more apps incorporate their own preventive measures, even though these requirements are not mandatory for app developers to implement. Meanwhile, since Advanced Protection is supported on all devices running Android 16, it would also allow other Android manufacturers to activate security features in their apps. Samsung already appears to be incorporating it in One UI 8. Notably, a visible list of all the apps is not vital for apps to know when Advanced Protection is activated. Instead, it is only meant for users to learn which apps have additional security features enabled. When Advanced Protection is enabled, certain apps will follow suit and activate their respective security features, which may block specific actions. So, one utility of this list is that it could inform users of the apps that these security features are controlled at the system level, and they might need to turn off Advanced Protection if they wish to use the disabled features within that app. While it’s not the most ideal scenario, but you will essentially have more information to decide whether you want to turn off Advanced Protection on your phone momentarily. ⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. Follow