Android 13: installing an application outside the Play Store will become more complicated

Google has just added a brand new restricted settings feature in the Android 13 betas. This will in particular make it possible to stop malicious applications from using accessibility parameters to act. This new security function will be applied in particular to applications downloaded outside the Google Play Store.

Android 13 has already been in beta for a while. We therefore know a lot more in terms of new features and functionalities about the one that will succeed Android 12. Android 13 will, for example, group together all the security options in a single menu and it will no longer constantly close applications in the background. Now Android 13 will also prevent all applications that will be installed outside the Play Store from abusing accessibility APIs.

This new feature will help stop malicious applications from using accessibility settings to act. Information about this new security feature leaked thanks to Mishaal Rahman. The expert on the subject, who is notably the author of a technical podcast dedicated to Android, noticed this novelty in a beta of the mobile operating system.

Android 13 strengthens security against applications not downloaded from the PlayStore

The author of the technical podcast dedicated to Android has concretely noticed that the accessibility settings of an application identified as malicious by the smartphone are no longer accessible. Mishaal Rahman then explains that a kind of dialog box titled “Restricted parameter” appears on the screen and that it indicates that the affected accessibility setting is simply not available. The app can’t access the accessibility settings and neither can the user.

Read also: Android 13 – news, compatible smartphones, release date, all about the update

By proceeding in this way, Google thus wishes permanently prevent malicious apps from accessing sensitive information via notifications. Of course, it will be possible to bypass this blocking on Android 13. And this new security restriction will not apply to applications that are installed on the Play Store, Google’s official application store. The function will only block applications that have been downloaded by users via a third-party application, messaging or via a browser.