Google’s got a new tool for making sure your phone is running the Android apps it should

• Google launched Binary Transparency as an initiative to verify the integrity of Pixel firmware.
• The program is now being expanded to cover Google’s own Android apps and Mainline updates.
• A publicly auditable, blockchain-like record keeps track of Google-approved releases.

All of us want to keep the data on our phones safe and secure, and one of the best things you can do to stay safe is only running apps from trustworthy sources. Digital signatures are an important part of that, helping ensure our apps are coming from whom they claim to be from. But even that’s not necessarily foolproof, and a malicious insider with access to signing keys could theoretically still do some damage. Google’s been thinking about how to protect Android users from attacks like just that one, and today shares its new plan for expanded Binary Transparency.

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