If you have an old mobile phone, you will face this new problem that Google wants to implement
It’s amazing how easy it is to manage our finances these days, we always have the ability to send and receive money almost instantly, all thanks to banks’ mobile apps. However, this has become a double-edged sword, which is why there is currently talk of banks restricting their apps to older Android phones.
The reason behind this is very simple and before you panic and go to the store to change your phone and spend money on a new mobile phone, wait a moment until we explain more about this topic. This is just an option that Google offers to many banks, but it is a bit more complicated than it seems at first glance, so let's dig deeper into this news.
Play Integrity, Google's weapon against fraud and security breaches
Android phones have an API, a function called Play Integrity, which is one of Google's tools designed to detect suspicious activities on the mobile phone and thus prevent any kind of fraud or bot abuse. That is, this API is directly linked to improving the functions related to the security of the device by 80%.
The problem is that in order to have full access to this API, it is necessary for the device to have at least some version of Android 13. In other words, older mobile phones will not be able to enjoy the same level of security and therefore, they are more vulnerable to cyber attacks and security bugs.
With the help of the API we mentioned earlier, apps can know what security update is present on the mobile phone and thus determine what functions will be allowed for that particular device. Google’s suggestion is that the apps that handle the most sensitive information are those that implement this practice, i.e. banking, financial, business or government apps.
This new feature will be launched in May 2025 and the plan is to be able to protect important information, with more layers of security, and prevent it from falling into the hands of any malicious agent who wants to take advantage of other users. However, it is not as simple as Google wants it to be.
While the idea sounds great on paper and the intentions are very good, the reality is that banks’ interest lies in having more people use their services online. If they start restricting important uses of their apps to older mobile phones, they will likely lose a lot of business, in other words, money and users.
Considering that the vast majority of people around the world do not have the latest mobile phones, it is reasonable to assume that banks will not want to risk limiting the use of their apps.
Only time will tell what role these new features will play in the usage of banking apps, and now all we have to do is wait.