Linting on the Side of Caution: Safety & Security

In this episode of Android Developers Backstage, Tor Norbye, Chet Haase, and Romain Guy host Theresa Khuu and Naheed Vora to discuss app safety on the Android platform. The discussion covers the various protections and tools available to developers to ensure the safety and trustworthiness of their apps, as well as the safety of the users who download them. Topics include malware, spyware, maskware, SDK Index, SDK Console, deception policies, data privacy, and the Play Integrity API. The panel also explores the balance between developer convenience and user safety, the importance of transparency, and the challenges of evolving policies in response to new technologies and changing user expectations. The guests share upcoming announcements and enhancements to tools designed to help developers build safer apps from the start, including pre-review checks and policy guidance within Android Studio.