Official: Android L will have encryption turned on by default

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Official: Android L will have encryption turned on by default

Android is about to get a whole lot more secure. Google has told The Washington Post that Android L will automatically encrypt user data out of the box. This will make it much more difficult for law enforcement officials (a.k.a NSA) access your personal private data. Android has had the option to encrypt data for a while now, but this is the first time it will be on by default. No action required by users.

“For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement. As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won’t even have to think about turning it on.”

- Google spokeswoman Niki Christoff

This announcement follows Apple’s own announcement that they don’t store or access personal data from iOS. The NSA scare is making companies address these issues out in the open to reassure users that their data is safe with them. The only downside to this default encryption is it could make certain crimes harder to solve. If a criminal’s phone is encrypted the law enforcement will have a hard time finding incriminating data. Is that a price you’re willing to pay for privacy?

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