Android 16 is bringing a major new privacy and security feature, warning users when their phone connects to a “stingray” fake cell tower.

Stingrays are portable devices that mimic cell towers. The devices are used by law enforcement to spy on criminals and investigative targets. By using a stingray near the target, the target’s phone connects to the it instead of the closest tower, routing all communication through the device and giving law enforcement the ability to capture and analyze it.

With Android 16, Google is introducing a “Mobile network security” screen, which provides users a number of warning and notifications that could indicate the individual is being targeted by a stingray attack. The screen has two subsections, including Notifications and Network Generation.

Notifications

In this subsection, a toggle enables or disables the display of system notifications when a user’s device is connected to an unencrypted network or when the device exchanges device identifiers such as IMSI or IMEI with the network.

Android will notify users when the device connects to an unenrypted network, such as a stingray device.

Android will also notify users when the network records the device’s unique identifier.

Whenever the device exchanges device identifiers such as IMEI or IMSI with the network, the following notification appears so that users can take mitigating actions. Tapping the notification takes the user to the Safety Center where they can view more details.

The Network Generation section adds a 2G toggle, similar to the one in the SIM Settings in settings. While this protection is off by default, it is important to enable 2G network protection, as stingray devices will often force phones to fall back to 2G mode, since the technology is less secure and easier to spy on.

This subsection contains additional entry points for 2G toggle for each of the SIMs in the device. Each 2G toggle enables or disables device’s 2G connectivity for the respective SIM. Each of these toggles reflect the same state as their corresponding 2G toggle under SIM Settings in Settings.

It’s good to see Google taking positive steps toward protecting users from surveillance. Unfortunately, as Android Authority points out, it is unlikely that existing devices will receive all of these features and protections, as they require updated modem drivers. Even Google’s own Pixel devices lack one of the dependencies necessary to enable this feature. As a result, the upcoming Pixel 10 will likely be the first device to support these security features.