Google is rolling out a much-needed privacy upgrade for cars running Android Automotive: the ability to lock specific apps behind a PIN. Known officially as Sensitive App Protection, this feature finally fixes a major headache for anyone who shares their vehicle with family members, passengers, or valets. Up until now, unlocking your driver profile was an “all-or-nothing” deal – once you opened the screen to let a friend pick a song, they had full access to your messages, search history, and personal data.
A More Granular Approach to Privacy in Shared Vehicles
While Android Automotive has supported PIN-protected profiles for a while, those protections basically vanish the moment you hand the screen over to someone else for navigation or music. Sensitive App Protection introduces the granularity that’s been missing. Drivers can now keep their private apps and browser data under lock and key without disabling the core functions like Google Maps or the Assistant that make the car actually usable.
You can find the new system under Settings > Privacy > App Lock. It allows you to set a 4-to-16-digit PIN that is completely separate from your main profile code. Once it’s set up, you can pick and choose which apps to hide – think WhatsApp, Chrome, or banking tools. To keep things safe while driving, essential system apps stay unlocked by design. If you happen to forget the PIN, you can reset it through your Google Account, though keep in mind this might require wiping the locked app’s data to keep your security intact.
This matters because cars are fundamentally shared spaces
Whether you’re letting a passenger handle the playlist on a road trip or handing the keys to a valet, it’s far too easy to expose personal info by accident. This app-level lock acts like a digital filter, letting you share the “smart” parts of your car without handing over your entire digital life.
Technically, Google has built this as an unbundled system app, rather than baking it directly into the core OS. This means it’s up to the car manufacturers to push it out to their vehicles, similar to how the recent dashcam feature was handled. The code is also open-source, so brands can tweak it to fit their own dashboard styles. Owners of cars with “Google built-in” – like Volvo, Polestar, GM, and Honda – should be the first to see this hit their screens via over-the-air updates.
While Google is also working on a similar “App Lock” API for smartphones in the future, this version is a turnkey solution built specifically for the unique, multi-user environment of the modern cockpit. As we spend more time connected to our cars, these kinds of locks are likely to become the new standard for both family SUVs and professional fleets.
