Maybe you’ve worried about the possibility of losing your phone to a thief who’s been watching you over your shoulder. Well, a new update from Google should give you some peace of mind. With the latest Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1, the company is stepping up its anti-theft game in a better way by expanding the capabilities of Identity Check, a key security feature that can better protect your most sensitive apps.
Identity Check has been around for a while to protect things like your password manager. However, it has a crucial loophole. Many apps that use Android‘s biometric prompt allow a user to fall back to a PIN or password if the fingerprint or face scan fails. This is convenient if you’re wearing a mask or gloves, but it also creates a major security hole. If a thief happens to know your PIN, they could potentially access a number of sensitive apps.
Android 16 QPR2 will force biometrics-only verification for protected apps
The upcoming Android 16 QPR2 update aims to close that loophole. In the new beta, Google is forcing apps that use the biometric prompt to enforce a biometrics-only authentication when Identity Check is turned on. This means that even if a thief knows your PIN, they won’t be able to access those apps (spotted by Android Authority).
This change is designed to stop what’s known as “shoulder-snooping.” The term refers to a method where a thief watches you enter your PIN before snatching your phone. With this new update, the bad actor will be completely unable to access a financial app or any other sensitive application. Overall, this will make your data much more secure.
If all goes well, Google will roll out the Android 16 QPR2 stable update in December. We’ll likely see more new features and improvements in future beta versions.
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