The Android Platform Security Model

Posted by Jeff Vander Stoep, Android Security & Privacy Team

Each Android release comes with great new security and privacy features. When it comes to implementing these new features we always look at ways to measure the impact with data that demonstrates the effectiveness of these improvements. But how do these features map to an overall strategy?
Last week, we released a whitepaper describing The Android Platform Security Model. Specifically we discuss:
  • The security model which has implicitly informed the Android platform’s security design from the beginning, but has not been formally published or described outside of Google.
  • The context in which this security model must operate, including the scale of the Android ecosystem and its many form factors and use cases.
  • The complex threat model Android must address.
  • How Android’s reference implementation in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) enacts the security model.
  • How Android’s security systems have evolved over time to address the threat model.
Android is fundamentally based on a multi-party consent1 model: an action should only happen if the involved parties consent to it. Most importantly, apps are not considered to be fully authorized agents for the user. There are some intentional deviations from the security model and we discuss why these exist and the value that they provide to users. Finally, openness is a fundamental value in Android: from how we develop and publish in open source, to the open access users and developers have in finding or publishing apps, and the open communication mechanisms we provide for inter-app interactions which facilitate innovation within the app ecosystem.
We hope this paper provides useful information and background to all the academic and security researchers dedicated to further strengthening the security of the Android ecosystem. Happy reading!
Acknowledgements: This post leveraged contributions from René Mayrhofer, Chad Brubaker, and Nick Kralevich

Notes

  1. The term ‘consent’ here and in the paper is used to refer to various technical methods of declaring or enforcing a party’s intent, rather than the legal requirement or standard found in many privacy legal regimes around the world. ↩

Enjoy YouTube Music free on Google Home speakers



Listening to music on your Google Home speaker right out-of-the-box seems too good to be true, right? It’s not! Starting today, YouTube Music is offering a free, ad-supported experience on Google Home speakers (or other Google Assistant-powered speakers).

Need a groove to get you ready for a night out? Say, “Hey Google, play Latin vibes.” Looking to kick off a dinner party or pick a power playlist for your home workout? We’ve got you covered. With YouTube Music and Google Home, you can ask Google Home to play the right music for any moment or mood, and YouTube Music will play the perfect station, customized to your tastes based upon your request.

For even more control when listening to music on smart speakers or in the YouTube Music mobile app, upgrade to YouTube Music Premium for $9.99/month. YouTube Music Premium on your smart speakers gives you the ability to request specific albums, songs, artists, and playlists on-demand. It also offers useful player controls, such as unlimited skips and song replay.

An upgrade to YouTube Music Premium also lets you background play music through the YouTube Music app while using other apps, and allows downloads for offline listening when you’re on-the-go. Best of all, listening is completely ad-free across every device. If you’re new to YouTube Music Premium, get a free 30-day trial.

We’ve made it easy to set YouTube Music as the music provider in your home. Here’s how to start:

If you already have a Google Home, navigate to Account Settings in your Google Home app, tap Services and select Music. Then, select YouTube Music as the default music service. If you are setting up a new Google Home speaker, choose YouTube Music as the default music service during the setup process.

Music fans can now listen to free, ad-supported YouTube Music on smart speakers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, and Austria. It’ll be available in more countries soon.

For additional information, check out our Help Center. And if you want to enjoy YouTube Music everywhere and anywhere, download the YouTube Music app in the Play Store or App Store.

James Goddard, Software Engineer for YouTube Music, who recently listened to “Lost” by Dermot Kennedy

Source: YouTube Blog


Work smarter in Sheets with several new features for objects

What’s changing

We’re launching several new features and tools that will help you create more compelling and stylized reports in Sheets:
  • Guides 
  • Multi-Selecting Objects 
  • Enhanced Pivot Table Insertion 
  • Copy and paste images into Sheets 
  • Formula backed charts inserted from Answers

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it

We hope these tools will help you make more engaging and informative reports by making it easier and faster to format charts, pivot tables, images, and more.

How to get started 

  • Admins: No action required. 
  • End users: See below for how to use each new feature in Sheets.

Additional details

Guides 
  • You can use guides to help you align, size, and position various objects within your sheets. Guides are also helpful in making sure multiple objects within the same sheet are in proportion to one another. 
Multi-selecting objects 
  • To select multiple charts, drawings, and images to move, resize, or delete in bulk, hold down the Control or Shift key and select. 



Enhanced pivot table insertion 
  • When adding a new pivot table, you’ll now have the option to either place it in a new sheet or in a custom location on an existing sheet. 
    • To create a new pivot table, go to Data > Pivot Table and select a data range. 
    • In the dialogue box, under Insert to, select New sheet or Existing sheet, and click Create. Note that if you select existing sheet, you’ll have to select a specific cell location for the pivot table. 


Copy and paste images into Sheets 
  • Recently, we made it easier to add images to your spreadsheet by inserting images into cells. Now, you can copy images from other websites and paste them directly into your sheet. 
    • Simply right click on an image and hit copy, then in Sheets right click and hit Paste to insert the image over the grid. 
Formula backed charts inserted from Answers
  • Now, when you use Sheets Explore to create charts, the charts you insert from the Q&A feature (Answers) will be backed by formulas. This means that charts will automatically update if the underlying data changes, ensuring you always have a fresh chart with the latest information.

Helpful links 

To learn more about charts and graphs in Sheets, see here. 
To learn about adding and editing a chart or graph, see here. 
To learn about adding an image to a spreadsheet, see here. 
To learn about creating and using a pivot table in Sheets, see here. 
To learn about editing and formatting a spreadsheet, see here.

Availability

Rollout details
G Suite editions
  • Available to all G Suite editions. 
On/off by default? 
  • These features will be ON by default.
Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Presenting search app and browser options to Android users in Europe

People have always been able to customize their Android devices to suit their preferences. That includes personalizing the design, installing any apps they want and choosing which services to use as defaults in apps like Google Chrome.

Following the changes we made to comply with the European Commission's ruling last year, we’ll start presenting new screens to Android users in Europe with an option to download search apps and browsers.  

These new screens will be displayed the first time a user opens Google Play after receiving an upcoming update. Two screens will surface: one for search apps and another for browsers, each containing a total of five apps, including any that are already installed. Apps that are not already installed on the device will be included based on their popularity and shown in a random order.

Android screen

An illustration of how the screens will look. The apps shown will vary by country.

Users can tap to install as many apps as they want. If an additional search app or browser is installed, the user will be shown an additional screen with instructions on how to set up the new app (e.g., placing app icons and widgets or setting defaults). Where a user downloads a search app from the screen, we’ll also ask them whether they want to change Chrome's default search engine the next time they open Chrome.

Chrome

The prompt in Google Chrome to ask the user whether they want to change their default search engine.

The screens are rolling out over the next few weeks and will apply to both existing and new Android phones in Europe.

These changes are being made in response to feedback from the European Commission. We will be evolving the implementation over time.  

On World Heritage Day, explore historic sites in 3D

Last year on World Heritage Day, CyArk launched Open Heritage on Google Arts & Culture to showcase the technology used for heritage preservation around the world. This year, we’re expanding the project further. Our goal isn’t just to digitally preserve heritage sites at risk, but to make their stories and the data we collected available to future generations of researchers, educators and students.

In addition to bringing new heritage locations and their stories to Google Arts & Culture, this year Historic Environment Scotland and the University of South Florida—organizations with a shared commitment to opening their 3D datasets to the world—have also joined the Open Heritage project. Together, we’re launching Open Heritage 3D, a dedicated portal for sharing 3D cultural heritage data and its results with everyone.

  • The Temple of Apollo, a structure at the top of a hill overlooking the ocean.

    Explore the Temple of Apollo, or Portara—an unfinished Greek temple said to offer one of the most enchanting sunsets in Greece.

  • The Neolithic Orkely, ceremonial stone circles.

    Discover the 5,000 year old ceremonial buildings at the heart of Neolithic Orkney.

  • The Jefferson Memorial, a large white building with columns in West Potomac Park, in Washington, D.C.

    The Thomas Jefferson Memorialhonors one of America's founding fathers.

  • The "spider web" wooden ceiling of the Lukang Longshan Temple.

    Discover Lukang Longshan Temple's impressive architectural features including painted murals, wood carvings and the largest spider web wooden ceiling in Taiwan.

  • The front of the Masjid Wazir Khan, an ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque.

    Dive into the intricate details of the Masjid Wazir Khan, the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque.

  • Launch Complex 34, a rocket launch site.

    Historic photo from 1963 of Launch Complex 34 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

  • The Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, surrounded by trees and a pond.

    Wander the streets of Vietnam's old imperial city and explore the majestic Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc.

At CyArk, we carry out this mission through 3D documentation. In 2018, we traveled to Mexico City to support restoration efforts following the devastating earthquake that struck there in 2017. Our efforts included the 3D documentation of the city’s enormous cathedral. It’s one of many cultural heritage sites across the world facing unprecedented challenges from natural disasters, climate change, human conflict and urban encroachment. Today, we’re adding the data collected during the Mexico City project to Google Arts & Culture, along with 29 other endangered sites around the globe, including the Temple of Apollo in Greece, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the U.S. and the Tomb of Tu Ducin Vietnam.

A 3D rendering of Mexico City's cathedral.

3D model of Mexico City’s Cathedral.

Since we began this project last year, the data has been downloaded thousands of times, used to create 3D printed temples from Thailand and incorporated into VR experiences that let you explore an ancient city. Five of the new locations available today are in Damascus, Syria, a city impacted by civil war. From 2016 to 2017, we embarked upon an extensive training program for young professionals from the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Lebanon, providing them with the tools and skills to document their heritage. Teaching our 3D documentation methodology is a core part of our mission and is becoming increasingly more important as organizations around the world adopt the use of 3D recording technologies.

Two people standing behind a camera at the Temple of Eshmun.

Photogrammetry at the Temple of Eshmun.

You can explore more stories by visiting g.co/openheritage, downloading the Android or iOS app or visiting Google Arts & Culture.

Federal Election 2019: Helping Australians explore trends and fight misinformation

As Australians head to the ballot box in coming weeks, they are searching for information on policies, parties and candidates.

We’re working with newsrooms to help journalists access these trends and explore what voters care about this election.

This isn’t about voting intentions, but it does provide unique insights into what people are searching for and what they care about at a local level.

Here’s how we’re helping journalists to use these trends tools.

Working with newsrooms 
The Google News Initiative is working with newsrooms to provide top searched issues, related searches and questions.

To make it easier for journalists to find this data, we’ve launched Google Trends Australian Federal Election 2019 page, which includes state-level data on the top issues searched in each region, such as the economy, education and healthcare (to name a few).



All the charts from the Google Trends pages are embeddable on any site and will continue to update even after they’re placed on your site.

Fighting misinformation 
Google has also supported First Draft to tackle misinformation at a global level since 2015, and together we’re committed to stemming the flow of misinformation and disinformation by working with news organisations, especially ahead of elections.

With support from the Google News Initiative, First Draft this week launched its first bureau in the Asia-Pacific region to assist journalists and publishers unearth and expose misleading, false and untrue claims.

Led by Anne Kruger, the Bureau will be based at the Centre for Media Transition at the University of Technology Sydney and will train and work with professional journalists and student-reporters across the country to develop the skills and expertise to reveal disinformation.

First Draft will work alongside the Walkley Foundation, which is leading a training effort to educate up to 4,000 journalists and journalism students across Australia and New Zealand in digital skills and verification in 2019.

As the Election draws closer, reporters want to understand what people - right across Australia - care about. We look forward to working with them to surface insights to help tell those stories.

Explore more Google Trends at google.com/trends and learn more about the Google News Initiative at g.co/newsinitiative. And stay tuned for more updates on the election from Google!

Posted by Nic Hopkins, News Lab Lead, Google Australia and New Zealand

Chrome Beta for Android Update

Hi everyone! We've just released Chrome Beta 74 (74.0.3729.92) for Android: it's now available on Google Play.

You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. For details on new features, check out the Chromium blog, and for details on web platform updates, check here.

If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Krishna Govind
Google Chrome

Chrome Beta for Android Update

Hi everyone! We've just released Chrome Beta 74 (74.0.3729.92) for Android: it's now available on Google Play.

You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. For details on new features, check out the Chromium blog, and for details on web platform updates, check here.

If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Krishna Govind
Google Chrome

Beta Channel Update for Desktop

The beta channel has been updated to 74.0.3729.91 for Windows, Mac, and, Linux.

A full list of changes in this build is available in the log. Interested in switching release channels?  Find out how here. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.



Abdul Syed
Google Chrome

Beta Channel Update for Desktop

The beta channel has been updated to 74.0.3729.91 for Windows, Mac, and, Linux.

A full list of changes in this build is available in the log. Interested in switching release channels?  Find out how here. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.



Abdul Syed
Google Chrome