• Android 14 devices will initially only prohibit apps that directly target older Android versions.
• This change would block users from sideloading specific APK files.
• Google aims to gradually raise the threshold to Android 6.0.

To help reduce the risk of infection, Android 14 will begin banning the installation of apps that target outdated versions of Android.

According to a recently disclosed code modification, Android 14 will tighten API requirements, thereby banning the installation of obsolete apps.

This change would block users from sideloading specific APK files and app stores from installing those same programs.

Android 14 devices will initially only prohibit apps that directly target older Android versions.

According to the report, Google aims to gradually raise the threshold to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), with a mechanism in place to “progressively ramp it up.”

However, it will most likely remain up to device manufacturers to establish the threshold for obsolete apps or whether to permit them at all.

According to the source, the tech giant plans to reduce the distribution of malicious apps on Android by disabling these obsolete programs.

According to the report, the developer who made the update also warns that certain malware programs have purposely targeted earlier versions of Android in order to avoid certain protections that are only applied to newer apps.

Meanwhile, Google stated that the future Android 14 will “assist our partners in achieving all of this,” following the announcements by SpaceX and T-Mobile of plans to provide direct satellite communication to devices.

Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s senior vice president of platforms and ecosystems, discussed the situation on Twitter.

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