Ravie LakshmananAug 28, 2026Cellular Security / Encryption
Google on Thursday announced new network security protections in Android 17 to bolster connection privacy, address cellular vulnerabilities, and safeguard the privacy of users' home networks.
Topping the list is support for Encrypted Client Hello (ECH), a privacy standard that prevents networks from eavesdropping on which websites a user is visiting.
"This new privacy standard works in tandem with private DNS to obscure the domain names you visit, hiding metadata that can be used to profile you," Google's Bram Bonné and Shuaibo Huang said. "By encrypting the destination website name from the very start, ECH helps ensure that, for supported websites and apps, network providers and network snoopers can no longer easily see which websites or apps you are accessing."
In a parallel report detailing the integration, Google's Jigsaw division said ECH hides the domain name using a secret encryption key that only the destination website can decipher.
