Summary

  • Local Network Protection (LNP) is coming to Android to provide better network security.
  • Google is currently only laying groundwork for LNP implementation in the future.
  • While it has not been introduced yet, Android 16 Beta 3 provides developers with the ability to prepare apps for the future change.

For many, popping onto a network really doesn’t have much meaning beyond just getting online. While this isn’t really a big deal if you’re on your own network, it can become a problem if you’re on a shared network, which can leave your device and data exposed to other users and devices on the same network.

The Quick Settings panel in Android 15.


Related


Google’s new split Quick Settings menu shown off in Android 16 hands-on video

We don’t know if it’ll be part of Android 16, though

Of course, there are measures in place with modern devices and software that make users more aware of what’s going on, like Local Network Protection (LNP), which can be found on Apple and Windows products. You may have seen this in action before, where you’re prompted when connecting to a network to see whether you’d like your device to discover other devices on the network.

Laying the groundwork for what’s to come

By allowing this, users are making a choice about how their devices are received and seen on a network. While we haven’t seen much of this on Android, a new change has been found that sets up LNP to be a big part of the operating system’s future. According to Android Authority, Android 16 Beta 3 will introduce LNP, providing network-connected devices with better protection.

The source states that Android in its current state doesn’t differentiate how devices connect, which means it uses the same permissions whether you’re connecting through the internet or on your local network. As you can imagine, this can be a huge problem, which is why LNP is so vital.

Now, it’s important to note that LNP isn’t implemented in full quite yet. Instead, it appears that Google is laying the groundwork to have it implemented at a later date, but has allowed developers access in order to prepare their apps so that when LNP goes live, apps will be ready to handle this change.

If you want, you can also explore all the latest changes by installing the latest beta of Android 16. Of course, if you’re someone that doesn’t really want to explore something in its early stages, you won’t have to wait long for the public release. While Android normally sees a new release in the latter part of the year, this year’s release should arrive in just a couple of months, with the current release window slated for June.