Google announces Android 5.0 'Lollipop' with default encryption

Google said this week that the latest version of its popular Android mobile operating system (5.0, dubbed "Lollipop") will become available next month, including a feature that will automatically encrypt users' data.

The company has allowed users to encrypt information stored on some mobile devices running the Android operating system since 2011. But the feature was not widely adopted.

Soon, devices with the latest version of the Android software will be encrypted by default during the activation process, preventing Google from unlocking the device, even at the request of law enforcement. The new default encryption works by creating a unique key for decrypting the device that is stored on the phone and not accessible to Google.

Only someone who knows the device's password would be able to see the pictures, messages and videos stored on the device, although law enforcement could gain access to information backed up in the cloud, as well as metadata from wireless carriers through court orders.

The update will begin rolling out in November.

Not all Android users are likely to receive the latest version at the same time. Android devices are made by various manufacturers and supported by various wireless carriers, each of whom tailors Android updates to consumers. So it may be months before the update makes its way to most consumers.

The move to default encryption was initially revealed last month, shortly after Apple announced a similar shift in its latest mobile operating system. It comes as major tech companies have rushed to add layers of security to their products and services in the wake of former contractor Edward Snowden's revelations about the pervasiveness of data collection by the National Security Agency.

Law enforcement figures have sharply criticized the companies for the encryption, arguing that it will limit the ability of investigators to pursue legitimate warrants. Earlier this month, FBI Director James Comey said he was "deeply concerned" about the companies' actions in a remarks at a Brookings Institution event, suggesting they had to potential to create a "black hole" that law enforcement could not penetrate.