Google Set to Add Operating System Safety Warnings in Android M

Google has added a new page to its Nexus Security support listing a new feature called 'Warning about operating system safety.' The feature checks the Android device while booting to make sure that the OS is safe to use. There is no word whether the verified boot system is coming to the upcoming Android M update; though considering that the company is busy developing the new OS, we can expect the feature to be included when the OS releases later this year.

The support page describes the new feature as, "When you turn on an Android device, the operating system is checked to make sure that it's safe to use. This means that the code running on your device comes from a trusted source and hasn't been changed or corrupted."

According to Google, the system will show three types of warning messages to the user. The first warning message will popup showing the Yellow exclamation and will say, "Your device has loaded a different operating system." The message will inform the user that the device is currently running a different operating system than the one that came preloaded on the device.

The second popup message will appear with Orange exclamation and will show the following message, "Your device software can't be checked for corruption. Please lock the bootloader." The message notifies the user that the device is in an "unlocked" state and the operating system can't be checked to make sure that it's safe to use. Users can proceed to lock their bootloader if they want this message to go away.

The third warning message will appear with Red exclamation and will come with a message saying, "Your device is corrupt. It can't be trusted and may not work properly." The message notifies the user that the operating system on the device has been changed or corrupted and is not safe to use.

All three warning messages will vanish after 10 seconds, but if it doesn't, users can startup their smartphone by pressing the power button once, Google notes.

Android Police speculates that Google might add the boot warnings in at least Nexus devices in upcoming Android M. It notes that DM-Verity, a verified boot system, was added in Android in the Android 4.4 KitKat release, however, never appeared as a user feature in general release builds.

Earlier this month, Google released the Android M Developer Preview 2 for Nexus devices which brought fixes and updates to Developer Preview 1 based on user feedback. The Developer Preview 2 came with build number MPZ79M for Nexus 5, Nexus 6, and Nexus 9 devices while it came with build number MPZ79N for the Nexus Player.