Behavior changes: Apps targeting Android 15 or higher

Like previous releases, Android 15 includes behavior changes that might affect your app. The following behavior changes apply exclusively to apps that are targeting Android 15 or higher. If your app is targeting Android 15 or higher, you should modify your app to support these behaviors properly, where applicable.

Be sure to also review the list of behavior changes that affect all apps running on Android 15 regardless of your app's targetSdkVersion.

Core functionality

Android 15 modifies or expands various core capabilities of the Android system.

Changes to foreground services

We are making the following changes to foreground services with Android 15.

• New media processing foreground service type
• Restrictions on BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast receivers launching foreground services

Data sync foreground service timeout behavior

Android 15 introduces a new timeout behavior to dataSync for apps targeting Android 15 or higher. This behavior also applies to the new mediaProcessing foreground service type.

The system permits an app's dataSync services to run for a total of 6 hours in a 24-hour period, after which the system calls the running service's Service.onTimeout(int, int) method (introduced in Android 15). At this time, the service has a few seconds to call Service.stopSelf(). When Service.onTimeout() is called, the service is no longer considered a foreground service. If the service does not call Service.stopSelf(), a failure will occur with this error message: "A foreground service of <fgs_type> did not stop within its timeout: <component_name>". In Beta 2, the failure message is shown as an ANR, but in a future Beta release, this failure message will throw a custom exception.

To avoid problems with this behavior change, you can do one or more of the following:

1. Have your service implement the new Service.onTimeout(int, int) method. When your app receives the callback, make sure to call stopSelf() within a few seconds. (If you don't stop the app right away, the system generates a failure.)
2. Make sure your app's dataSync services don't run for more than a total of 6 hours in any 24-hour period (unless the user interacts with the app, resetting the timer).
3. Only start dataSync foreground services as a result of direct user interaction; since your app is in the foreground when the service starts, your service has the full six hours after the app goes to the background.
4. Instead of using a dataSync foreground service, use an alternative API.

If your app's dataSync foreground services have run for 6 hours in the last 24, you cannot start another dataSync foreground service unless the user has brought your app to the foreground (which resets the timer). If you try to start another dataSync foreground service, the system throws ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException with an error message like "Time limit already exhausted for foreground service type dataSync".

New media processing foreground service type

Android 15 introduces a new foreground service type, mediaProcessing. This service type is appropriate for operations like transcoding media files. For example, a media app might download an audio file and need to convert it to a different format before playing it. You can use a mediaProcessing foreground service to make sure the conversion continues even while the app is in the background.

The system permits an app's mediaProcessing services to run for a total of 6 hours in a 24-hour period, after which the system calls the running service's Service.onTimeout(int, int) method (introduced in Android 15). At this time, the service has a few seconds to call Service.stopSelf(). If the service does not call Service.stopSelf(), a failure will occur with this error message: "A foreground service of <fgs_type> did not stop within its timeout: <component_name>". In Beta 2, the failure message is shown as an ANR, but in a future Beta release, this failure message will throw a custom exception.

To avoid getting an ANR, you can do one of the following:

1. Have your service implement the new Service.onTimeout(int, int) method. When your app receives the callback, make sure to call stopSelf() within a few seconds. (If you don't stop the app right away, the system generates a failure.)
2. Make sure your app's mediaProcessing services don't run for more than a total of 6 hours in any 24-hour period (unless the user interacts with the app, resetting the timer).
3. Only start mediaProcessing foreground services as a result of direct user interaction; since your app is in the foreground when the service starts, your service has the full six hours after the app goes to the background.
4. Instead of using a mediaProcessing foreground service, use an alternative API, like WorkManager.

If your app's mediaProcessing foreground services have run for 6 hours in the last 24, you cannot start another mediaProcessing foreground service unless the user has brought your app to the foreground (which resets the timer). If you try to start another mediaProcessing foreground service, the system throws ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException with an error message like "Time limit already exhausted for foreground service type mediaProcessing".

For more information about the mediaProcessing service type, see Changes to foreground service types for Android 15: Media processing.

Restrictions on BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast receivers launching foreground services

There are new restrictions on BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast receivers launching foreground services. BOOT_COMPLETED receivers are not allowed to launch the following types of foreground services:

• dataSync
• camera
• mediaPlayback
• phoneCall
• mediaProjection
• microphone (this restriction has been in place for microphone since Android 14)

If a BOOT_COMPLETED receiver tries to launch any of those types of foreground services, the system throws ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException.

Restrictions on starting foreground services while an app holds the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission

Previously, if an app held the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission, it could launch a foreground service even if the app was currently in the background (as discussed in exemptions from background start restrictions).

If an app targets Android 15, this exemption is now narrower. The app now needs to have the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission and also have a visible overlay window. That is, the app needs to first launch a TYPE_APPLICATION_OVERLAY window and the window needs to be visible before you start a foreground service.

If your app attempts to start a foreground service from the background without meeting these new requirements (and it does not have some other exemption), the system throws ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException.

If your app declares the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission and launches foreground services from the background, it may be affected by this change. If your app gets a ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException, check your app's order of operations and make sure your app already has an active overlay window before it attempts to start a foreground service from the background. You can check if your overlay window is currently visible by calling View.getWindowVisibility(), or you can override View.onWindowVisibilityChanged() to get notified whenever the visibility changes.

Changes to when apps can modify the global state of Do Not Disturb mode

Apps that target Android 15 can no longer change the global state or policy of Do Not Disturb (DND) on a device (either by modifying user settings, or turning off DND mode). Instead, apps must contribute an AutomaticZenRule, which the system combines into a global policy with the existing most-restrictive-policy-wins scheme. Calls to existing APIs that previously affected global state (setInterruptionFilter, setNotificationPolicy) result in the creation or update of an implicit AutomaticZenRule, which is toggled on and off depending on the call-cycle of those API calls.

Note that this change only affects observable behavior if the app is calling setInterruptionFilter(INTERRUPTION_FILTER_ALL) and expects that call to deactivate an AutomaticZenRule that was previously activated by their owners.

Security

Android 15 includes changes that promote system security to help protect apps and users from malicious apps.

Secured background activity launches

Android 15 protects users from malicious apps and gives them more control over their devices by adding changes that prevent malicious background apps from bringing other apps to the foreground, elevating their privileges, and abusing user interaction. Background activity launches have been restricted since Android 10 (API level 29).

Block apps that don't match the top UID on the stack from launching activities

Malicious apps can launch another app's activity within the same task, then overlay themselves on top, creating the illusion of being that app. This "task hijacking" attack bypasses current background launch restrictions because it all occurs within the same visible task. To mitigate this risk, Android 15 adds a flag that blocks apps that don't match the top UID on the stack from launching activities. To opt in for all of your app's activities, update the allowCrossUidActivitySwitchFromBelow attribute in your app's AndroidManifest.xml file:

<application android:allowCrossUidActivitySwitchFromBelow="false" >

Other changes

In addition to the restriction for UID matching, these other changes are also included:

• Change PendingIntent creators to block background activity launches by default. This helps prevent apps from accidentally creating a PendingIntent that could be abused by malicious actors.
• Don't bring an app to the foreground unless the PendingIntent sender allows it. This change aims to prevent malicious apps from abusing the ability to start activities in the background. By default, apps are not allowed to bring the task stack to the foreground unless the creator allows background activity launch privileges or the sender has background activity launch privileges.
• Control how the top activity of a task stack can finish its task. If the top activity finishes a task, Android will go back to whichever task was last active. Moreover, if a non-top activity finishes its task, Android will go back to the home screen; it won't block the finish of this non-top activity.
• Prevent launching arbitrary activities from other apps into your own task. This change prevents malicious apps from phishing users by creating activities that appear to be from other apps.
• Block non-visible windows from being considered for background activity launches. This helps prevent malicious apps from abusing background activity launches to display unwanted or malicious content to users. No newline at end of left file.

Safer intents

Android 15 introduces new security measures to make intents safer and more robust. These changes are aimed at preventing potential vulnerabilities and misuse of intents that can be exploited by malicious apps. There are two main improvements to the security of intents in Android 15:

• Match target intent-filters: Intents that target specific components must accurately match the target's intent-filter specifications. If you send an intent to launch another app's activity, the target intent component needs to align with the receiving activity's declared intent-filters.
• Intents must have actions: Intents without an action will no longer match any intent-filters. This means that intents used to start activities or services must have a clearly defined action.

fun onCreate() {
    StrictMode.setVmPolicy(VmPolicy.Builder()
        .detectUnsafeIntentLaunch()
        .build()
    )
}

public void onCreate() {
    StrictMode.setVmPolicy(new VmPolicy.Builder()
            .detectUnsafeIntentLaunch()
            .build());
}

User experience and system UI

Android 15 includes some changes that are intended to create a more consistent, intuitive user experience.

Window inset changes

There are two changes related to window insets coming in Android 15. In Beta 1, edge-to-edge will be enforced. There are also upcoming configuration changes, including the default configuration of system bars.

Edge-to-edge enforcement

Apps will be edge-to-edge by default on devices running Android 15 if the app is targeting Android 15.

This is a breaking change that might negatively impact your app's UI. The changes are as follows:

• Gesture handle navigation bar
  • Transparent by default.
  • Bottom offset is disabled so content draws behind the system navigation bar unless insets are applied.
  • setNavigationBarColor and R.attr#navigationBarColor is deprecated and does not affect gesture navigation.
  • setNavigationBarContrastEnforced and R.attr#navigationBarContrastEnforced continues to have no effect on gesture navigation.
• 3 button navigation
  • Opacity set to 80% by default, with color possibly matching the window background.
  • Bottom offset disabled so content draws behind the system navigation bar unless insets are applied.
  • setNavigationBarColor and R.attr#navigationBarColor is set to match the window background by default. The window background must be a color drawable for this default to apply. This API is deprecated but continues to affect three button navigation.
  • setNavigationBarContrastEnforced and R.attr#navigationBarContrastEnforced is true by default, which adds an 80% opaque background across three button navigation.
• Status bar
  • Transparent by default.
  • The top offset is disabled so content will draw behind the status bar unless insets are applied.
  • setStatusBarColor and R.attr#statusBarColor are deprecated and have no effect on Android 15.
  • setStatusBarContrastEnforced and R.attr#statusBarContrastEnforced are deprecated but still have an effect on Android 15.
• Display cutout
  • layoutInDisplayCutoutMode of non-floating windows must be LAYOUT_IN_DISPLAY_CUTOUT_MODE_ALWAYS. Otherwise apps will crash with an IllegalArgumentException. ALWAYS is the only allowed option so that users don't see a Black bar caused by the display cutout in landscape mode and therefore appear edge-to-edge.

The following example shows an app before and after targeting Android 15, and before and after applying insets.

If your app:

• is already edge-to-edge and applies insets, you are mostly unimpacted, except in the following scenarios. However, even if you feel you aren't impacted, we recommend you test your app.
  • Your app crashes because you have a non-floating window, such as an Activity that uses SHORT_EDGES, NEVER or DEFAULT instead of LAYOUT_IN_DISPLAY_CUTOUT_MODE_ALWAYS. If your app crashes on launch, this may be due to your splashscreen. Until a fix is available, set window.attributes.layoutInDisplayCutoutMode = WindowManager.LayoutInDisplayCutoutMode.always.
  • There may be lower traffic screens with occluded UI. Verify these less visited screens don't have occluded UI. Lower traffic screens include:
    • Onboarding or sign-in screens
    • Settings pages
• is not edge-to-edge, you are most likely impacted. In addition to the scenarios for apps that are already edge-to-edge, you will need to consider the following:
  • If your app uses Material 3 Components (androidx.compose.material3 in compose, such as TopAppBar, BottomAppBar, and NavigationBar, these components are likely not impacted because they automatically handle insets.
  • If your app is using Material 2 Components (androidx.compose.material in Compose, these components don't automatically handle insets. However, you can get access to the insets and apply them manually. In androidx.compose.material 1.6.0 and later use the windowInsets parameter to apply the insets manually for BottomAppBar, TopAppBar, BottomNavigation, and NavigationRail. Likewise, use the contentWindowInsets parameter for Scaffold.
  • If your app uses Views and Material Components (com.google.android.material, most Views based Material Components such as BottomNavigationView, BottomAppBar, NavigationRailView, or NavigationView, handle insets and require no additional work. However, you will need to add android:fitsSystemWindows="true" if using AppBarLayout.
  • For custom Composables, apply the insets manually as padding. If your content is within a Scaffold, you may consume insets using Scaffold's padding values. Otherwise, apply padding using one of the WindowInsets.
  • If your app is using Views and BottomSheet, SideSheet or custom containers, apply padding using ViewCompat.setOnApplyWindowInsetsListener. For RecyclerView, apply padding using this listener and also add clipToPadding="false".
• must offer custom background protection to three button navigation or the status bar, you app should place a composable or view behind the system bar using WindowInsets.Type#tappableElement() to get the three button navigation bar height or WindowInsets.Type#statusBars.

See the Edge to Edge Views and Edge to Edge Compose guides for additional considerations on applying insets.

The list of deprecated and disabled APIs are:

• R.attr#statusBarColor
• R.attr#navigationBarColor
• R.attr#navigationBarDividerColor
• Window#setDecorFitsSystemWindows
• Window#setStatusBarColor
• Window#setStatusBarContrastEnforced
• Window#setNavigationBarColor
• Window#setNavigationBarDividerColor
• Window#getStatusBarColor
• Window#getStatusBarContrastEnforced
• Window#getNavigationBarColor
• Window#getNavigationBarDividerColor

Stable configuration

This change is not available to test in Beta 1, but is coming soon.

If your app targets Android 15 or higher, Configuration no longer excludes the system bars. If you use the screen size in the Configuration class for layout calculation, you should replace it with better alternatives like an appropriate ViewGroup, WindowInsets or WindowMetricsCalculator depending on your need.

Configuration has been available since API 1. It is typically obtained from Activity.onConfigurationChanged. It provides information like window density, orientation, and sizes. One important characteristic about the window sizes returned from Configuration is that it previously excluded the system bars.

The configuration size is typically used for resource selection, such as /res/layout-h500dp, and this is still a valid use case. However, using it for layout calculation has always been discouraged. If you do so, you should move away from it now. You should replace the use of Configuration with something more suitable depending on your use case.

If you use it to calculate the layout, use an appropriate ViewGroup such as CoordinatorLayout or ConstraintLayout. If you use it to determine the height of the system navbar, use WindowInsets. If you want to know the current size of your app window, use computeCurrentWindowMetrics.

The following list describes the fields affected by this change:

• Configuration.screenWidthDp and screenHeightDp sizes no longer exclude the system bars.
• Configuration.smallestScreenWidthDp is indirectly affected by changes to screenWidthDp and screenHeightDp.
• Configuration.orientation is indirectly affected by changes to screenWidthDp and screenHeightDp on close-to-square devices.
• Display.getSize(Point) is indirectly affected by the changes in Configuration. This has been deprecated beginning in API level 30.
• Display.getMetrics() has already worked like this since API level 33.

elegantTextHeight attribute defaults to true

For apps targeting Android 15, the elegantTextHeight TextView attribute becomes true by default, replacing the compact font used by default with some scripts that have large vertical metrics with one that is much more readable. The compact font was introduced to prevent breaking layouts; Android 13 (API level 33) prevents many of these breakages by allowing the text layout to stretch the vertical height utilizing the fallbackLineSpacing attribute.

In Android 15, the compact font still remains in the system, so your app can set elegantTextHeight to false to get the same behavior as before, but it is unlikely to be supported in upcoming releases. So, if your app supports the following scripts: Arabic, Lao, Myanmar, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Telugu or Thai, test your app by setting elegantTextHeight to true.

TextView width changes for complex letter shapes

In previous versions of Android, some cursive fonts or languages that have complex shaping might draw the letters in the previous or next character's area. In some cases, such letters were clipped at the beginning or ending position. Starting in Android 15, a TextView allocates width for drawing enough space for such letters and allows apps to request extra paddings to the left to prevent clipping.

Because this change affects how a TextView decides the width, TextView allocates more width by default if the app targets Android 15 or higher. You can enable or disable this behavior by calling the setUseBoundsForWidth API on TextView.

Because adding left padding might cause a misalignment for existing layouts, the padding is not added by default even for apps that target Android 15 or higher. However, you can add extra padding to preventing clipping by calling setShiftDrawingOffsetForStartOverhang.

The following examples show how these changes can improve text layout for some fonts and languages.

Standard layout for English text in a cursive font. Some of the letters are clipped. Here is the corresponding XML:

<TextView
    android:fontFamily="cursive"
    android:text="java" />

Layout for the same English text with additional width and padding. Here is the corresponding XML:

<TextView
    android:fontFamily="cursive"
    android:text="java"
    android:useBoundsForWidth="true"
    android:shiftDrawingOffsetForStartOverhan="true" />

Standard layout for Thai text. Some of the letters are clipped. Here is the corresponding XML:

<TextView
    android:text="คอมพิวเตอร์" />

Layout for the same Thai text with additional width and padding. Here is the corresponding XML:

<TextView
    android:text="คอมพิวเตอร์"
    android:useBoundsForWidth="true"
    android:shiftDrawingOffsetForStartOverhan="true" />

Locale-aware default line height for EditText

In previous versions of Android, the text layout stretched the height of the text to meet the line height of the font that matched the current locale. For example, if the content was in Japanese, because the line height of the Japanese font is slightly larger than the one of a Latin font, the height of the text became slightly larger. However, despite these differences in line heights, the EditText element was sized uniformly, regardless of the locale being used, as illustrated in the following image:

For apps targeting Android 15, a minimum line height is now reserved for EditText to match the reference font for the specified Locale, as shown in the following image:

If needed, your app can restore the previous behavior by specifying the useLocalePreferredLineHeightForMinimum attribute to false, and your app can set custom minimum vertical metrics using the setMinimumFontMetrics API in Kotlin and Java.

Camera and media

Android 15 makes the following changes to camera and media behavior for apps that target Android 15 or higher.

Restrictions on requesting audio focus

Apps that target Android 15 must be the top app or running an audio-related foreground service in order to request audio focus. If an app attempts to request focus when it does not meet one of these requirements, the call returns AUDIOFOCUS_REQUEST_FAILED.

A foreground service is considered audio-related if its type is mediaPlayback, camera, microphone, or phoneCall.

You can learn more about audio focus at Manage audio focus.

Updated non-SDK restrictions

Android 15 includes updated lists of restricted non-SDK interfaces based on collaboration with Android developers and the latest internal testing. Whenever possible, we make sure that public alternatives are available before we restrict non-SDK interfaces.

If your app does not target Android 15, some of these changes might not immediately affect you. However, while it's possible for your app to access some non-SDK interfaces depending on your app's target API level, using any non-SDK method or field always carries a high risk of breaking your app.

If you are unsure if your app uses non-SDK interfaces, you can test your app to find out. If your app relies on non-SDK interfaces, you should begin planning a migration to SDK alternatives. Nevertheless, we understand that some apps have valid use cases for using non-SDK interfaces. If you can't find an alternative to using a non-SDK interface for a feature in your app, you should request a new public API.

To learn more about the changes in this release of Android, see Updates to non-SDK interface restrictions in Android 15. To learn more about non-SDK interfaces generally, see Restrictions on non-SDK interfaces.