Android 7.1 has a secret panic mode'

Even though Google’s Android 7.1 Nougat has reached the end of its lifecycle, developers are still going through its codes for finding features that can help them develop new apps or services. Xda Developers were doing something similar when they found out a feature embedded in Android Nougat which helps users protect their smartphones from malware applications.

Android 7.1 has a secret ‘Panic Mode’ written into the Android open source code. What it does is override any application when it detects the back key pressed successively within 0.3 seconds for more than four times.

When the user installs and opens a malicious app that takes over the phone and opens multiple web links or advertisements, he/she generally presses the back key multiple times in quick succession to close it. If the Android OS detects such behaviour, it overrides the app and closes it from the system level and brings the user to the home screen. The user can then immediately uninstall the app from the system.

While Google never mentioned the presence of this feature during the official unveiling of Android 7.1 Nougat, it’s appreciable on Google’s part to protect its consumers from malicious apps and services by embedding such safety features into the operating system.