Google Deals Out ‘Tough Love’ as It Ends Security Updates for a Billion Android Users

Google’s announcement that it will not provide security updates for older versions of its Android mobile operating system means that more than a billion users face growing security risks to their phones or tablets.

The eagerly anticipated Android 5.1 Lollipop update will be first rolled out for the Spice Dream Uno and Spice Dream Uno H smartphones in India, according to a reports. Bersam/Google, CC BY

Google’s announcement that it will not provide security updates for older versions of its Android mobile operating system means that more than a billion users face growing security risks to their phones or tablets.

While Android phones and tablets have grown exponentially in popularity, from 4% market share in 2009 to 84% in 2014, by abandoning support for versions prior to Android 4.4 “Kit Kat” Google’s decision affects more than 60% of Android users running older versions that will now be vulnerable.

At the heart of this announcement is a piece of software called WebView, a component of the built-in web browser in earlier versions of Android, but which also turns up in many apps. It is WebView that Google is dropping support for, replaced in version 4.4 with a new component taken from Google’s browser, Chrome.

Android's long tail - many users still run older versions. Erikrespo/Google data, CC BY-SA