Android 14 Developer Preview 2 consists of a number of privateness enhancements

The Android improvement crew has introduced the discharge of the second developer preview for Android 14. That is the ultimate developer preview earlier than the brand new model enters beta. 

This preview consists of a lot of updates associated to privateness and safety. For instance, Photograph Picker, which gives an interface that reveals a customers’ media library, is beneficial for all apps, however for apps that can’t use it for some purpose, there’s a new dialog that may allow customers to decide on between three completely different permission ranges: permitting entry to all media, permitting entry to chose media, and blocking entry. 

Credential Supervisor is now out there as a platform API in Android 14 to make the sign-in course of simpler. The API helps passkeys in addition to passwords. Key updates on this developer preview embody UI enhancements for the account selector and API adjustments. 

Different safety updates in Android 14 embody safer implicit intents and giving foreground apps extra management of the power for different apps to begin background actions. 

There are additionally a number of updates meant to assist with efficiency. This preview features a new optimization to the reminiscence administration system, which is able to forestall most background work from occurring as soon as an app goes right into a cached state. 

One other replace is that ongoing notification can now be dismissed by the consumer when their display is unlocked. Sure notifications, like system and gadget coverage notification, will nonetheless be unable to be dismissed, nevertheless. 

Android 14 additionally options enhancements to the App Retailer expertise for builders. It consists of new PackageInstaller APIs, together with:

• requestUserPreapproval(), which permits the obtain of APKs to be delayed till set up has been accredited
• setRequestUpdateOwnership(), which permits an installer to point it’s chargeable for future app updates
• setDontKillApp(), which might set up non-compulsory options whereas the app is working. 

There are additionally new APIs and intents with regard to regional preferences, which allow customers to personalize issues like temperature items, numbering techniques, and the primary day of the week. “A European residing in the US may want temperature items to be in Celsius quite than Fahrenheit and for apps to deal with Monday as the start of the week as a substitute of the US default of Sunday,” David Burke, VP of engineering for Android, wrote in a weblog put up.