Google pushed the Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3 version update for eligible Pixel devices. This version (T2B3.230109.002) mainly solves several bugs, while optimizing performance and improve stability.
Android explorer @Mishaal Rahman discovered yesterday that after installing Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3 on his Pixel 7, he discovered that Google is trying to prevent users from capturing QR codes from Wi-Fi pages to share with others.
After he brought the issue back to the community, the Google developer stated that it would not be fixed because it was “expected behavior”.
He was very puzzled by this, “Why do I need to ask Google’s permission to take a screenshot on my own phone, why can Google refuse? Why can’t Google let me use my own phone in the way I want? Is it necessary? Using a custom ROM to give me control over my own device? I don’t understand.”
Rahman also discovered that this FLAG_SECURE was added to Wi-Fi sharing in QPR2 Beta 1. He pointed out that although there are a variety of tools/methods to create and share QR codes manually via WiFi, this method is relatively cumbersome and cannot be sure of security.
Compared with the unpleasant DRM copyright content protection, this behavior of prohibiting users from taking screenshots of their own Wi-Fi is undoubtedly disgusting. After all, the most common way for many users to share after forgetting the password is to scan the Wi-Fi to share the QR code to view saved Wi-Fi passwords, which are at least more secure than plaintext passwords.
But at present, if you want to view your own Wi-Fi password, you need at least another phone. I hope Google will give users more choices in the future.
