- Android 15 introduced a new API to facilitate end-to-end encryption in apps. The Contact Keys Manager API gives users a centralized way to manage and verify their contacts’ public keys.
- The latest Google Play Services beta update contains hints that showcase how this Contact Keys feature will work.
- Apple introduced a similar feature called Contact Key Verification with iOS 17.2, which also features automatic notifications and other extras.
Android 15‘s first beta introduced a new E2eeContactKeysManager API, which is said to facilitate end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in Android apps by providing an “OS-level API for the storage of cryptographic public keys.” Google notes that the API is designed to integrate with the “platform contacts app” to give users a “centralized way to manage and verify their contact’s public keys.” We now have some more info on how the user-facing elements will work for Contact Keys, potentially building up Android as a better competitor against Apple for sophisticated cyberattacks.
While Android 15 introduced the API, Google Play Services will handle the functionality related to Contact Keys. We’ve spotted new activities and strings in the latest Google Play Services beta that give us a clue about how the feature will work.