Android will add a new security option that will prevent you from being a victim of “Shoulder surfing” when you enter your mobile PIN in a public space.
While it won’t save you from having to take other security measures, it will prevent you from exposing yourself to more than necessary. We tell you what it is about.
Android will protect the mobile PIN from prying eyes
In a previous article, we told you that the Google team was testing a new dynamic to unlock the mobile. While the method remains the same, it simplifies the process for the user as it removes one step in unlocking. An option that can be seen in one of the developer versions of Android 14.
And now a new option has been discovered that follows the same dynamic, but whose objective is to protect the PIN when the user enters it on their mobile while in a public place. As mentioned in Xda Developers, Android will add a new security option in the “Lock Screen” section, which is called “Enhanced PIN Privacy”.
According to the description of this option, when the user activates this option, the animations when entering the PIN are disabled. That is, the screen will not show that small visual animation every time you click on the PIN number. A measure that aims to avoid giving clues about the numbers that correspond to the mobile PIN.
And of course, this small option could protect the user from the practice of «Shoulder surfing». A practice that does not require the attacker to use any technological skills, since he only needs to observe the user’s interaction with a device as closely as possible to capture a password or important information.
With the security option enabled that Android proposes, it will be a little more difficult for any attacker to use this practice. Of course, as long as the user takes the rest of the necessary measures to avoid exposing the PIN when in public.
At the moment, we will have to wait a few months until Android 14 is released, and see this new option in operation.
