Android 16 — the next operating system (OS) from Google — was released in developer preview on Wednesday. A dive into the update has now revealed that it might bring a new feature which automatically hides sensitive notifications, such as OTPs and two-factor authentication codes, from the smartphone's home screen, according to a report. With this step, it may reportedly become more difficult for malicious apps to extract said information, potentially improving privacy.
Hidden Notifications in Android 16
In a report, Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman detailed the feature discovered in the Android 16 Developer Preview 1. As per the publication, Android System Intelligence will be able to detect when notifications, which are considered “sensitive”, appear on the lock screen and automatically redact them without user intervention.
The sensitive notifications will still be hidden even if the sensitive notifications option is enabled in the device settings, as per the report. If disabled, only the app name, which has sent the notification, will appear on the lock screen. A separate setting for lock screen notifications is also reportedly added in the Android 16 Developer Preview 1. Here, users can control which apps and devices read notifications and the extent to which they are hidden.
The report suggests a similar option was previously discovered in Android 15. It is said to leverage the Android System Intelligence which processes information and checks for any sensitive content like two-factor authentication codes, before it is passed on to the Notification Listener API. Only apps which have been signed with the system certificate or perform select roles will be granted access to read sensitive content in notifications.
Android 16 Release Date
According to a previous report, Android 16 will be moved to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on June 3. Further, it will be made available as an over-the-air (OTA) update starting with the Google Pixel devices on the same day. Google has also confirmed that it will have a major Android release in Q2 2025, followed by a minor release in the fourth quarter.
