New Android 17 QPR2 feature lets you peek inside your phone’s secure sandbox

Google has unveiled a new feature in Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 that provides users with greater transparency regarding their phone's secure sandbox, known as Private Compute Core. This update adds a dedicated "Data logging" menu within the Privacy Dashboard, allowing users to actively monitor, log, and review any outbound data leaving this isolated environment.

Private Compute Core is a crucial component of Android's machine learning features such as Live Caption, Now Playing, and Smart Reply. It operates in a secure silo, ensuring that user data remains protected without being exposed directly to the cloud or other applications. However, until now, users had limited visibility into the amount and frequency of data being exported from this sandbox.

With the introduction of the "Data logging" section in the Privacy Dashboard, Android users can now choose between two logging tiers. The "Limited" mode records data for up to three days, consuming up to 100MB, while the "Detailed" mode retains information for a maximum of 12 hours, again allowing up to 100MB. Users can also download these logs or delete them at their discretion.

This new transparency upgrade empowers users to have more control over their on-device data, offering a clearer picture of how sensitive information is being handled by Android's private computational core.