It’s a great decision in the name of security, but it makes things less convenient for power users
Android’s accessibility services may be meant to assist users with disabilities, but the set of tools is so powerful that it’s routinely used by other apps to enable compelling features. Unfortunately, accessibility services are often the gateway for malware, too, helping it gain control over a phone or acquire personal data. With Android 13, Google is further cracking down on access to accessibility services, making it much more difficult for sideloaded apps to gain access.
As spotted by Esper.io, Android 13 introduces a new restriction for sideloaded apps, preventing users from granting them the right to use accessibility services. Given that many phishing and malware attacks are carried out by tricking users into installing an APK from outside an app store, this might just make it much harder for bad actors to hijack unsuspecting users’ phones.
Google isn’t fully stopping sideloaded apps from using accessibility services, though. Once you’ve run into the dialog saying that accessibility services are restricted for the app in question, you can activate access under the app info screen in the top right corner via the “allow restricted settings” menu entry, so if you’re a power user interested in augmenting your phone with a legitimate app, you can still do that. This seems like a loophole that nefarious apps could circumvent by instructing users to enable restricted settings. Thus, it’s possible that Google will still change this behavior before going live with stable Android 13.
The new rule has implications for apps you sideload that are also available on the Play Store. When we sideloaded an older version of Sleep as Android from APK Mirror, which uses accessibility services to prevent you from shutting down your phone when you try to turn off the alarm, we weren’t able to enable accessibility services even after updating it to the latest available version via the Play Store.
While you can still get access to accessibility services in Android 13 Beta 1 using the workaround described earlier, that’s an extra step that might not be obvious for those who sideload apps to be up-to-date before a Play Store rollout reaches them. Admittedly, this is an edge case that likely won’t be something many people will ever run into.
It’s also important to note that Google is only restricting sideloaded apps. If you use an alternative app distribution platform like F-Droid or the Amazon app store, you won’t run into the accessibility services restrictions, with Google probably reasoning that applications in app stores are screened, at least to a degree.
Meanwhile, apps that are distributed in Google’s Play Store can’t use accessibility services by default at all anymore, unless they’re specifically created with accessibility in mind. Other app developers can still ask for exemption when they can prove to Google in a lengthy process that their apps are greatly enhanced with accessibility services, but generally, Google is strongly discouraging the use of accessibility services. In fact, call recording apps are the latest to feel these restrictions, with Google no longer allowing them to use accessibility services to record phone conversations.
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