After a long and frustrating delay, Samsung owners will soon see Android 15 / One UI 7 hit their phones. In amongst an AI facelift and new features, a raft of security and privacy enhancements will lock Galaxy down more like iPhone. Before you upgrade though, there’s one critical setting you should change on your phone.
While most of One UI 7’s security and privacy updates emanate from Google and the core Android 15 OS, Samsung is adding its own. Recent flagships — for which you can assume at least the S24 — should be upgraded before the end of April. But one new feature will work differently depending on how your phone is set up before upgrading
We’re talking Maximum Restrictions, which is a divisive new lockdown to make your phone safer and — it has to be said — more like an Apple device. This setting restricts activities such as sideloading that are synonymous with Android’s wider freedoms, but at the price of reduced security and an increased risk of malware being installed.
Samsung now defaults to Maximum Restrictions for news phones with a clean install, but if you’re upgrading from a Samsung device then your preferences come along for the ride. And that means Maximum Restrictions will be disabled.
So what does it bring? As Samsung explains, it “establishes a powerful line of defense against today’s cyber threats.” That includes:
- “Turns on App protection: Checks apps installed for malicious activity.
- Blocks device admin apps: Prevents activation of device admin apps and work profiles to protect against potential malicious attacks.
- Blocks auto downloading attachments: Prevents automatic downloads of message attachments to protect against malicious software, while still allowing manual downloads from trusted sources.
- Blocks hyperlinks and previews: Protects you from accidentally clicking on hyperlinks or viewing preview images, keeping you safe from malicious websites.
- Removes location data when sharing pictures: Prevents the recipient from being able to determine where the picture was taken when you attach a picture to a message in Samsung Messages or share a picture from Samsung Gallery.
- Blocks shared albums: Protects you from sharing sensitive information and accepting invites from unknown senders.”
One UI 7 brings “added controls for network connections,” and these include both wired and wireless connections to your phone. “Users have the choice to block 2G service and prevent data from being intercepted when connected to potentially unsafe networks. Users can also prevent unintended automatic reconnection to certain Wi-Fi networks that may be less secure, ensuring data remains private.”
This network defense includes “automatic, unintended reconnection to less secure networks,” which means in practice ensuring a good level of encryption before it will connect. That’s the same reasoning behind blocking 2G, which is not encrypted in the same way as modern cellular network technologies and is wide open to attack.
Android diehards won’t like this setting as it’s limiting, but given the state of the current mobile threat landscape I would recommend that most users have this option enabled as it will bring additional peace of mind. Auto Blocker in particular should be enabled.
Check your settings now, and remember those will be carried forwards to Android 15 / One UI 7, including enabling (or not) the additional protections the new OS will bring.
