The security breaches in which users’ personal information is leaked are common today. It happens to small and large companies and services, affecting millions of usersand there are few who have not seen their emails and other data leaked on the Internet on several occasions.
It is also common underestimate the importance of these leaksoften under the idea that, if the password has not been leaked, it is not a big deal. But email addresses are valuable to cybercriminals. People tend to use the same username and password combinations, and having the first one already allows perform different types of attacks to find out passwords.
In this context, the new function that Google is developing for use from the Android operating system is more than welcome. The Android Authority media has decompiled the latest version of Google Play Services24.45.33, and has found clues to a feature in development called Shielded Email.
Google Play Services is a set of tools, libraries and services provided by Google that allow apps on Android devices to take advantage of advanced features and updates without depending on the specific version of the Android operating system.
In the latest Google Play Services APK, several lines of code show this functionality, which allows the system create an email as an alias for the user’s principal and use it to give them access to apps and services without having to provide the real one. In this way, in a leak, the information that would be obtained it would be the alias and not the real one, besides that will make it difficult to track your activity by not being able to link it with the user’s authentic email.
The option will appear within the section Autocomplete with Googlefollowing, on an Android phone, the route: Settings > Passwords and accounts > Autofill service > Settings icon.
In the lines of code found in the middle there are communications from the operating system with phrases that make it clear what Shielded Email will be used for. Among them:
- ‘Emails are forwarded to ^1. To control spam, you can turn off forwarding at any time in your Google Account’, with ‘^1’ being the user’s actual email.
- ‘Keep your email address private with Shielded Email’.
- ‘Use an email address created for this application. Emails will be forwarded to ^1’.
- ‘Use an email address created for this application. This can protect you from online tracking and data breaches.’
This function, which promises to be very useful, is currently in developmentand it is unknown when Google plans to launch it. As with other news, it will most likely reach phones first Pixel of the company and, later, to other Android devices. What there is no information about is a similar function for the browser Chromewhich is the main gateway to the Internet for many users.