Google announced on March 25, 2026 that Android 17 will include post-quantum cryptography (PQC) improvements starting with the next beta, and then generally available at the retail launch. This action is in response to the accelerating advances in quantum computing and the need to update the security foundations of the world’s most used mobile operating system before this technology becomes a real threat to modern cryptography.
The announcement was posted on Google’s security blog by Eric Lynch, Android Product Manager, and Dom Elliot, Google Play Product Group Manager. The goal is not simply to patch individual applications or transport protocols. However, this is to ensure the resiliency of the entire platform architecture. For decades to come.
Android 17 improves security with two important changes. First, improve your processes Verified bootto ensure that no one has tampered with the operating system before the phone is powered on. Second, we update how we demonstrate to external applications (such as banks) that the device is secure. A new type of anti-quantum “shield” cipher is currently in use that will be impossible for even future supercomputers to break.
For developers, the Android keystore includes native support for ML-DSA (post-quantum cryptographic signatures). Enable applications to use signatures that are secure against quantum attacks It is available directly from the device’s secure hardware, without requiring developers to implement their own cryptographic solutions. In fact, future cryptocurrency wallet apps will be able to perform post-quantum secure signatures on Android 17 and above.
Post-quantum cryptography: why now?
Post-quantum cryptography is a set of algorithms designed to counter attacks by quantum computers. Quantum computers are machines that can process multiple states and data simultaneously, unlike traditional computers. You can solve certain math problems dramatically faster. Current cryptographic systems (such as RSA and Elliptic Curves that protect wallets and communications) rely precisely on the difficulty of securing these issues.
Threats to cryptographic systems are already relevant today through so-called “save now, decrypt later” attacks. Where malicious actors collect encrypted data today The aim is to crack them once we have a sufficiently powerful quantum computer. In contrast, digital signatures represent a future threat, and the transition to PQC must be completed before cryptographically relevant quantum computers exist.
Background: Google and the pre-2030 quantum horizon
The Android 17 announcement comes a day after Google released another statement regarding advances in quantum computing. As reported by CriptoNoticias, Google Quantum AI said it is “increasingly convinced” that quantum computers have commercial relevance. Expected to be available by the end of this yearThis is the first time the company has set such a specific period.
However, this does not refer to equipment that is ready for the mass market, but rather to systems that can solve problems of real value for industries such as pharmaceuticals, computational chemistry, and finance.
The implementation of PQC in Android 17 is part of a broader roadmap that Google outlined in the same announcement. Next steps include integrating post-quantum key encapsulation into KeyMint, key attestation, and remote key provisioning, with the goal of powering the entire identity lifecycle in the Android ecosystem. Google has indicated that it plans to share further updates on this transition in the coming months.
(Tag Translate)Quantum Computing
