Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Backs Off Default Encryption on New Android Lollilop Devices

Posted by Soulskill on from the give-the-people-what-the-government-wants dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Although Google announced in September 2014 that Android 5.0 Lollipop would require full-disk encryption by default in new cell phones, Ars Technica has found otherwise in recently-released 2nd-gen Moto E and Galaxy S6. It turns out, according to the latest version of the Android Compatibility Definition document (PDF), full-disk encryption is currently only "very strongly recommended" in anticipation of mandatory encryption requirements in the future. The moral of the story is: don't be lazy — check that your full-disk encryption is actually enabled.

1 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. Re:FDE on Android doesn't work as of yet by PriyanPhoenix · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Or at the very least it would need to come with a significant enough processor jump that no one notices the drop in responsiveness from any earlier device. I briefly switched on FDE on a Nexus 5 and it only took a few days to decide the trade-off was (for me) unacceptable. Had I jumped to the Nexus 6 at the same time, however, that may not have been an issue.

    --
    "Yes, Virginia, there is a Great Cthulhu..."