Privacy News Android System SafetyCore: what it does and why you may want to remove it

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Content source

https://www.ghacks.net/2025/02/28/android-system-safetycore-what-it-does-and-why-you-may-want-to-remove-it/

When Google released the October 2024 security update for Android, it made no mention of a new app that it integrated in the update. Android System SafetyCore was suddenly installed and users did not know what it did. It is probably the secrecy around this app that is worrying many Android users currently.

Google did announce its functionality in a blog post in October 2024, but without mentioning the apps' name. In 5 new protections on Google Messages to help keep you safe, it mentioned the new "Sensitive Content Warnings give you control over seeing and sending images that may contain nudity." under point four.

Here is how this works in a nutshell according to Google:

• It is an optional feature that has two main purposes:
  • Scan images for nudity and blur them.
  • Warn users when they are about to send images with nudity using Google Messages.
• Google says the scanning happens on the device and that it has no access to the contents of images.
• The feature is enabled for Android users under the age of 18, but disabled for adults.

In other words: Google added a new app to most Android devices that is scanning images for nudity automatically. While disabled for adults, it does run on the Android devices of minors automatically.

Android System SafetyCore: what it does and why you may want to remove it - gHacks Tech News

Android System SafetyCore is a new controversial app. Here is what you need to know about it and how to uninstall it from your Android device.

www.ghacks.net

 

[trott3r]

cant find safety core on my updated samsung z4 fold
Do samsung rename it to something else?

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Samsung has not renaimed it. It's not available on all devices.

 

[trott3r]

Samsung has not renaimed it. It's not available on all devices.

ah right thanks

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Dedoimedo: Android System SafetyCore prude filter nonsense

Here I was, a decadent European minding my own European business, pondering art and chocolate and the price of diesel, when, just a day ago, I accidentally came across an article that mentioned something called Android System SafetyCore being installed on people's phones without consent. I read more about this app, and it turns out, among other things, it's a crappy, intrusive prude filter for idiots. It enables a "safety" framework for the "classification" (shh, don't call it scanning) of potentially "sensitive" content. And of course, this would be nudity, a forbidden word across the pond.

I checked my phones, and yup, on one of these, this little turd had indeed been installed without my consent. So, we might have a privacy violation on our hands, which I'm going to examine in detail and, if needed, report to the relevant regulatory bodies. Second, I can't even begin to express my disdain about this feature and its intended purpose of tech-imposed moralism. But I'll try. Let's have an article.

What about Apple?

If you think I'm being unfair, I already mentioned this nonsense in my iPhone 13 Mini review. It's more of the same pointless puritanism. I hated this there as much as I hate in on the Android. The only difference is that iOS has an ever so slightly more private stance than Android, generally speaking, and a bit more transparency. But even so, this is medieval morality compiled in Java or whatever. As an aside, on my old iPhone 11 test device, I have disabled iMessages, of course. Not interested.

Android System SafetyCore prude filter nonsense

Article about the severe privacy implications of the new Android System SafetyCore framework, pushed without consent onto user's device, including silent installation, vague description, limited search visibility, lack of transparency, unnecessary bundling of security and would-be safety...

www.dedoimedo.com

 

[TairikuOkami]

Cloud services have implemented this filter a decade ago, this is just for an user's interface. While it will not block adults by default, it will get file names and hashes to block later on.

It's not available on all devices.

It was installed on my device. Samsung Galaxy Xcover 7. I have just uninstalled it, but I wonder, if March update will reinstall it again? I guess Android is like Windows now.