xref: /frameworks/base/docs/html/guide/faq/security.jd

page.title=Android Security FAQ
parent.title=FAQs, Tips, and How-to
parent.link=index.html
@jd:body

<ul>
    <li><a href="#secure">Is Android Secure?</a></li>
    <li><a href="#issue">I think I found a security flaw. How do I report
    it?</a></li>
    <li><a href="#informed">How can I stay informed about Android security?</a></li>
    <li><a href="#use">How do I securely use my Android phone?</a></li>
    <li><a href="#malware">I think I found malicious software being distributed
    for Android. How can I help?</a></li>
    <li><a href="#fixes">How will Android-powered devices receive security fixes?</a>
    </li>
    <li><a href="#directfix">Can I get a fix directly from the Android Platform
    Project?</a></li>
</ul>


<a name="secure" id="secure"></a><h2>Is Android secure?</h2>

<p>The security and privacy of our users' data is of primary importance to the
Android Open Source Project. We are dedicated to building and maintaining one
of the most secure mobile platforms available while still fulfilling our goal
of opening the mobile device space to innovation and competition.</p>

<p> A comprehensive overview  of the <a
href="http://source.android.com/tech/security/index.html">Android
security model and Android security processes</a> is provided in the Android
Open Source Project Website.</p>

<p>Application developers play an important part in the security of Android.
The Android Platform provides developers with a rich <a
href="http://code.google.com/android/devel/security.html">security model</a>
that to request the capabilities, or access, needed by their
application and to define new capabilities that other applications can request.
The Android user can choose to grant or deny an application's request for
certain capabilities on the handset.</p>

<p>We have made great efforts to secure the Android platform, but it is
inevitable that security bugs will be found in any system of this complexity.
Therefore, the Android team works hard to find new bugs internally and responds
quickly and professionally to vulnerability reports from external researchers.
</p>


<a name="issue" id="issue"></a><h2>I think I found a security flaw. How do I
report it?</h2>

<p>You can reach the Android security team at <a
href="mailto:security@android.com">security@android.com</a>. If you like, you
can protect your message using our <a
href="http://code.google.com/android/security_at_android_dot_com.txt">PGP
key</a>.</p>

<p>We appreciate researchers practicing responsible disclosure by emailing us
with a detailed summary of the issue and keeping the issue confidential while
users are at risk. In return, we will make sure to keep the researcher informed
of our progress in issuing a fix. </p>


<a name="informed" id="informed"></a><h2>How can I stay informed about Android security?</h2>

<p>For general discussion of Android platform security, or how to use
security features in your Android application, please subscribe to <a
href="http://groups.google.com/group/android-security-discuss">android-security-discuss</a>.
</p>


<a name="use" id="use"></a><h2>How do I securely use my Android phone?</h2>

<p>Android was designed so that you can safely use your phone without making
any changes to the device or installing any special software.  Android applications
run in an Application Sandbox that limits access to sensitive information or data
with the users permission.</p>

<p>To fully benefit from the security protections in Android, it is important that
users only download and install software from known sources.</p>

<p>As an open platform, Android allows users to visit any website and load
software from any developer onto a device. As with a home PC, the user must be
aware of who is providing the software they are downloading and must decide
whether they want to grant the application the capabilities it requests.
This decision can be informed by the user's judgment of the software
developer's trustworthiness, and where the software came from.</p>


<a name="malware" id="malware"></a><h2>I think I found malicious software being
distributed for Android. How can I help?</h2>

<p>Like any other platform, it will be possible for unethical developers
to create malicious software, known as <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware">malware</a>, for Android. If you
think somebody is trying to spread malware, please let us know at <a
href="mailto:security@android.com">security@android.com</a>. Please include as
much detail about the application as possible, with the location it is
being distributed from and why you suspect it of being malicious software.</p>

<p>The term <i>malicious software</i> is subjective, and we cannot make an
exhaustive definition.  Some examples of what the Android Security Team believes
to be malicious software is any application that:
<ul>
    <li>uses a bug or security vulnerability to gain permissions that have not
    been granted by the user</li>
    <li>shows the user unsolicited messages (especially messages urging the
    user to buy something);</li>
    <li>resists (or attempts to resist) the user's effort to uninstall it;</li>
    <li>attempts to automatically spread itself to other devices;</li>
    <li>hides its files and/or processes;</li>
    <li>discloses the user's private information to a third party, without the
    user's knowledge and consent;</li>
    <li>destroys the user's data (or the device itself) without the user's
    knowledge and consent;</li>
    <li>impersonates the user (such as by sending email or buying things from a
    web store) without the user's knowledge and consent; or</li>
    <li>otherwise degrades the user's experience with the device.</li>
</ul>
</p>


<a name="fixes" id="fixes"></a><h2>How do Android-powered devices receive security
fixes?</h2>

<p>The manufacturer of each device is responsible for distributing software
upgrades for it, including security fixes. Many devices will update themselves
automatically with software downloaded "over the air", while some devices
require the user to upgrade them manually.</p>

<p>Google provides software updates for a number of Android devices, including
the <a href="http://www.google.com/nexus">Nexus</a>
series of devices, using an "over the air" (OTA) update. These updates may include
security fixes as well as new features.</p>

<a name="directfix" id="directfix"></a><h2>Can I get a fix directly from the
Android Platform Project?</h2>

<p>Android is a mobile platform that is released as open source and
available for free use by anybody. This means that there are many
Android-based products available to consumers, and most of them are created
without the knowledge or participation of the Android Open Source Project. Like
the maintainers of other open source projects, we cannot build and release
patches for the entire ecosystem of products using Android. Instead, we will
work diligently to find and fix flaws as quickly as possible and to distribute
those fixes to the manufacturers of the products through the open source project.</p>

<p>If you are making an Android-powered device and would like to know how you can
properly support your customers by keeping abreast of software updates, please
contact us at <a
href="mailto:info@openhandsetalliance.com">info@openhandsetalliance.com</a>.</p>