GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
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TL;DR Google’s new Security State libraries let apps check the security status of individual Android components instead of relying only on the overall security patch level.
Apps can also check whether a security update is available and ready for installation, potentially prompting users before they perform sensitive tasks.
A phone can now be recognized as protected even if its overall security patch date hasn’t changed, as long as it has received the specific security fix.
Until now, your Android phone’s security patch level and the date attached to it have served as an easy way for apps and businesses to check whether your phone is up to date. But it doesn’t always tell the complete story.
That’s because Android can update different parts of the OS separately. Some updates come directly from the phone maker, while other components can be updated through Google Play without requiring a full system update.
Google has now released the stable versions of its AndroidX Security State and Security State Provider libraries. These are essentially new tools that can give your phone’s apps a more detailed look at the security state of your device.
For example, an app can check which security fixes are already installed, what the latest available fixes are, and whether an update is waiting to be installed on your particular phone.
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
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