Android 15 is expected to arrive on Pixel smartphones later this year, and thanks to the release of a developer preview and first public beta, several features of Google’s upcoming operating system (OS) update have surfaced. Google is reportedly working on a handy new feature that could help users quarantine malicious apps after detecting them on their smartphones. If the feature is added to the final Android 15 release, the operating system may be able to “quarantine” apps, much like antivirus programs on Windows.

spot According to Android Authority in the latest Android 15 beta, Google is working on the ability to allow system apps (such as Google Play Services or Play Store) to isolate apps and apply some restrictions to them. Once an app is quarantined, its functionality will be severely limited, which may prevent it from taking adverse actions on the user’s device.

According to the publication, code for the App Isolation feature exists on Android 15 but is not yet enabled. According to the current code, the feature will reportedly prevent quarantined apps from showing notifications, hiding their windows and inactivating their activity, preventing them from ringing the device, and preventing other apps from interacting with some of its services.

So-called Isolated App Interface on Android 15
Image credit: Android Authority/Mishaal Rahman

Google is reportedly developing the “QUARANTINE_APPS” permission, which would only be granted to apps signed by the same certificate Google uses to sign the Android operating system, effectively limiting the ability to isolate apps to the Play Store (or Google Play Services) .

It’s worth noting that while anti-malware software on Windows computers is also able to quarantine apps, Android is much more secure than Windows, and apps can’t access many parts of the phone without user permission. Therefore, quarantined apps will still be visible in the app drawer in Android 15, but clicking on the gray icon will notify the user that the app is unavailable while displaying two buttons – OK and Unquarantine appaccording to the publication.

There’s no word yet on whether the feature will be coming to Android 15, as it was first spotted in 2022’s Android 14 developer build. If Google decides to enable the feature on Android 15, it seems that only the Play Store or Google Play Services will be able to perform the app isolation feature. However, Google’s Play Protect malware scanner may come in handy when it detects an app that exhibits suspicious behavior but is not a known threat.