Alongside the numerous features that Android 8.0 (O) is going to bring to your handsets, the update will get you the much-needed security improvements to the in-app browser.
Needless to say, the in-app browser aka WebView is one of the handiest features to check out web pages inside a given app without having to open the main browser. But, there’s one major downside of using in-app browsers.
What, you ask? Well, it’s not as secure as your standard browsers like Chrome. This, in other words, means that the WebView leaves vulnerable to attacks thereby compromising the security.
Read: Google’s Android O could likely be called ‘Oatmeal Cookie’ and not ‘Oreo’
But, fret not, Android O has got you covered. The update will bring two major changes to the WebView. Firstly, the WebView will be getting Google’s Safe Browsing feature.
Apparently, Google will incorporate Safe Browsing into WebView which in turn will allow it to check if the website the app intends to use is in Google’s phishing and malware databases and immediately display a warning message.
Read: Next Android update will come as Android 8.0.0
Developers can implement this change simply by utilizing the single line of code provided by Google.
Secondly, the search engine giant is also sandboxing the WebView’s renderer. What this essentially means is that if and when any security compromises occur, they won’t be able to spread to other parts of the app.
Via: Mobile Syrup
