What you need to know
- An APK teardown of the latest version of the Google Drive app has revealed that it could soon gain encryption support.
- Once the feature is rolled out, you will be able to encrypt individual files using the Google Drive app on Android.
- You will also be able to download and decrypt files.
Google is working on adding support for encryption to the Google Drive app, according to an APK teardown performed by the folks at XDA Developers. Strings of code found in Google Drive for Android v2.20.44.1.06.40 reveal the Drive app will soon allow users to open encrypted files directly.
In addition to opening encrypted files directly, you will also be able to download and decrypt files using the Google Drive app on your phone. As per Android developer and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, the upcoming feature will even allow users to encrypt documents saved on their device with the help of a toggle in the settings of the Drive app. However, enabling encryption will erase all copies of your documents on the device.
Let's give some more details about it 👀#Google will allow to encrypt documents saved on your device (namely documents marked to be available offline) 🔒
Changing this settings will erase all copies already downloaded. https://t.co/tizh8OSser pic.twitter.com/58GJjX7y2qLet's give some more details about it 👀#Google will allow to encrypt documents saved on your device (namely documents marked to be available offline) 🔒
Changing this settings will erase all copies already downloaded. https://t.co/tizh8OSser pic.twitter.com/58GJjX7y2q— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) November 10, 2020November 10, 2020
While we now know how the upcoming feature will work, there is no word on when it will begin rolling out to users. What also remains to be seen if the encryption feature will be made available to everyone for free, or if it will be behind a paywall.
Google Drive lacks native support for encryption currently, although you do get add-ons that support both encryption and decryption. There are also a few third-party apps that let you encrypt files and offer Google Drive integration.
