Google deploys support for Encrypted Client Hello on Android 17
The new internet standard adds a layer of protection to your data.
Google has introduced platform-wide support for Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) on Android 17, making it the first major mobile OS to do so. Jigsaw, a tech incubator within Alphabet, says ECH closes a critical internet privacy gap. It explains that even when you're visiting a website with secure HTTP (HTTPS), internet service providers can still see the domain names of the websites and services you visit and use. That information can be used to build user profiles that companies can use for targeted advertising and bad actors can use for phishing campaigns.
ECH encrypts the destination website you visit from the start. With the standard enabled, ISPs will only see a website's content delivery network (CDN), like Cloudflare, and how much data is moving, but not the website or app you're actually on. In other words, ECH adds a solid layer of protection to your data and prevents tracking of your activities. The new internet standard will be enabled on Android 17 by default.
"Closing this privacy gap makes the internet safer for everyone," says Jigsaw. Just ECH isn't enough to fully protect you, though. It will not conceal DNS lookups, which are what you call the process of translating a web URL into a numerical IP address that computers can recognize. For that, you would need to enable encrypted DNS. The standard also doesn't hide your IP address like a VPN does.
In addition to ECH, Google has also recently rolled out other security features to Android 17. One of those is a zero-click solution carriers can use to turn off 2G by default in order to prevent SMS blasters, which typically rely on the legacy cellular network in order to bypass modern spam filters.