Android May 16 Automatically hides sensitive notifications on the lock screen
Android 16 – Google’s next operating system (OS) – was released in developer preview on Wednesday. A dive into the update has now revealed that it may bring a new feature that will automatically hide sensitive notifications such as OTPs and two-factor authentication codes from the smartphone’s home screen, according to a report. This move could reportedly make it harder for malicious apps to extract this information, potentially improving privacy.
Hidden notifications in Android 16
In one reportAndroid Authority’s Mishaal Rahman detailed the feature discovered in the Android 16 Developer Preview 1. According to the publication, Android System Intelligence will be able to detect when notifications, considered “sensitive” appear on the lock screen and automatically redact them without intervention of the user.
The sensitive notifications will still be hidden even if the sensitive notifications option is enabled in the device settings, according to the report. If disabled, only the app name that sent the notification will appear on the lock screen. The Android 16 Developer Preview 1 has also reportedly added a separate setting for lock screen notifications. Here users can control which apps and devices read notifications and to what extent they are hidden.
The report suggests that a similar option was previously discovered in Android 15. It is said to use the Android System Intelligence which processes information and checks for sensitive content, such as two-factor authentication codes, before passing it to the Notification Listener API. Only apps that are signed with the system certificate or that fulfill certain roles are given access to read sensitive content in notifications.
Android 16 release date
According to a previous report, Android 16 will be moved to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on June 3. Furthermore, it will be made available as an over-the-air (OTA) update starting with Google Pixel devices on the same day. Google has also confirmed that it will have a major Android release in the second quarter of 2025, followed by a minor release in the fourth quarter.
