Android Automotive will let you PIN-lock apps to keep them private from passengersAndroid Automotive’s new Sensitive App Protection lets you lock apps behind a PIN.

Android Automotive will let you PIN-lock apps to keep them private from passengers

TL;DR

• Google is introducing a native App Lock feature for Android Automotive that lets you secure specific apps behind a PIN.
• Known as “sensitive app protection,” this feature allows you to lock third-party apps without blocking access to the rest of the infotainment system.
• Because Google is releasing this as an unbundled app, it will be up to individual automakers to implement the feature in their vehicles.

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Unlike your personal Android phone, cars running Google’s Android Automotive OS are shared spaces. While the OS supports individual, PIN-protected user profiles to keep data separate, it currently lacks a way to lock specific apps. This creates a privacy loophole: If you unlock your profile just to let a passenger play music, they also gain access to all your other apps. Fortunately, that is set to change, as Google is introducing a native App Lock feature to Android Automotive.

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Android Automotive’s new Sensitive App Protection lets you lock apps behind a PIN.Mishaal Rahman2025-12-23T20:50:06.000Z{}