A person may want an app’s useful notices without accepting every interruption it sends. In Google’s March 21, 2017 Android O developer-preview announcement, notification channels let users change or block individual app-defined categories. That is a specific control, not evidence that people were less distracted or that developers had already organized their categories helpfully. Phandroid reported Google’s plan for four previews, with the next expected in May. For our category-control checklist, that suggests recording the first-preview build and scheduling a fresh review of the available choices at the expected May checkpoint. This is a proposed review, not proof that choices persist across builds or that their safety has been validated. [android-o][phandroid-o-preview]

For an interfaith or secular discussion of care, our proposed checklist asks the app team to name each category, explain its purpose and identify the choice left to the user. This is editorial reasoning about agency. It does not speak for a faith tradition, establish a legal consent requirement or describe an implemented consent screen. [android-o]

Autofill calls for a different question: who keeps the information? Google said users could select an autofill app and described that app as storing and securing addresses, usernames and passwords. We suggest recording the selected service and its custody role separately from the app receiving filled information. The announcement is not an independent security assessment of either party. [android-o]

Finally, avoid using a broad security label to answer both questions. Google described default multiprocess WebView operation and, separately, optional Safe Browsing URL checks. Neither tells a user which notification category to accept or which autofill provider to trust. Our consent-and-control checklist joins those questions without pretending that a platform feature settles the responsibility to explain them. [android-o]

Source documents

  1. O-MG, the Developer Preview of Android O is here!https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/03/first-preview-of-android-o.html
  2. Android O Developer Preview arrives with a ton of featureshttps://phandroid.com/2017/03/21/android-o-official-preview-features/