fidzu : pda

Posted by Ashley Tschudin - Social Media Specialist, MTP at Google

Welcome to "Meet the Android Studio Team"; a short blog series where we pull back the curtain and introduce you to the passionate people who build your favorite Android development tools. Get to know the talented minds - engineers, designers, product managers, and more - who pour their hearts into crafting the best possible experience for Android developers.

Join us each week to meet a new member of the team and explore their unique perspectives.

Paris Hsu: Empowering Android developers with Compose tools

Meet Paris Hsu, a Product Manager at Google passionate about empowering developers to build incredible Android apps.

Her journey to the Android Studio team started with a serendipitous internship at Microsoft, where she discovered the power of developer tools. Now, as part of the UI Tools team, Paris champions intuitive solutions that streamline the development process, like the innovative Compose Tools suite.

In this installment of "Meet the Android Studio Team," Paris shares insights into her work, the importance of developer feedback, and her dream Android feature (hint: it involves acing that forehand).

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a part of the Android Studio team? What sparked your interest in Android development?

Honestly, I joined a bit by chance! The summer before my last year of grad school, I was in the Microsoft's Garage incubator internship program. Our project, InkToCode, turned handwritten designs into code. It was my first experience building developer tools and made me realize how powerful developer tools can be, which led me to the Android Studio team. Now, after 6 years, I'm constantly amazed by what Android developers create - from innovative productivity apps to immersive games. It's incredibly rewarding to build tools that empower developers to create more.

In your opinion, what is the most impactful feature or improvement the Android Studio team has introduced in recent years, and why?

As part of the UI Tools team in Android Studio, I'm biased towards Compose Tools! Our team spent a lot of time rethinking how we can take a code-first approach for tools as we transition the community for XML to Compose. Features like the Compose Preview and its submodes (Interactive, Animation, Deploy preview) enable fast UI iteration, while features such as Layout Inspector or Compose UI Check helps find and diagnose UI issues with ease. We are also exploring ways to apply multimodal AI into these tools to help developers write more high quality, adaptive, and inclusive Compose code quicker.

How does the Android Studio team ensure that products or features meet the ever-changing needs of developers?

We are constantly engaging and listening to developer feedback to ensure we are meeting their needs! some examples:

How does the Studio team contribute to Google's broader vision for the Android platform?

I think Android Studio contributes to Google's broader mission by providing Android developers with powerful and intuitive tools. This way, developers are empowered to create amazing apps that bring the best of Google's services and information to our users. Whether it's accessing knowledge through Search, leveraging Gemini, staying connected with Maps, or enjoying entertainment on YouTube, Android Studio helps developers build the experiences that connect people to what matters most.

If you could wave a magic wand and add one dream feature to the Android universe, what would it be and why?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am recently super obsessed with tennis. I would love to see more coaching wearables (e.g. Pixel Watch, Pixel Racket?!). I would love real-time feedback on my serve and especially forehand stroke analysis.

Learn more about Compose Tools

Inspired by Paris' passion for empowering developers to build incredible Android apps? To learn more about how Compose Tools can streamline your app development process, check out the Compose Tools documentation and get started with the Jetpack Compose Tutorial.

Stay tuned

Keep an eye out for the next installment in our "Meet the Android Studio Team" series, where we'll shine the spotlight on another team member and delve into their unique insights.

Find Paris Hsu on LinkedIn, X, and Medium.

30 Jan 2025 9:00pm GMT

Posted by Thomas Ezan - Sr. Developer Relation Engineer (@lethargicpanda)

Gemini can help you build and launch new user features that will boost engagement and create personalized experiences for your users.

The Vertex AI in Firebase SDK lets you access Google's Gemini Cloud models (like Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 1.5 Pro) and add GenAI capabilities to your Android app. It became generally available last October which means it's now ready for production and it is already used by many apps in Google Play.

Here are tips for a successful deployment to production.

Implement App Check to prevent API abuse

When using the Vertex AI in Firebase API it is crucial to implement robust security measures to prevent unauthorized access and misuse.

Firebase App Check helps protect backend resources (like Vertex AI in Firebase, Cloud Functions for Firebase, or even your own custom backend) from abuse. It does this by attesting that incoming traffic is coming from your authentic app running on an authentic and untampered Android device.

To get started, add Firebase to your Android project and enable the Play Integrity API for your app in the Google Play console. Back in the Firebase console, go to the App Check section of your Firebase project to register your app by providing its SHA-256 fingerprint.

Then, update your Android project's Gradle dependencies with the App Check library for Android:

dependencies {
    // BoM for the Firebase platform
   implementation(platform("com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:33.7.0"))

    // Dependency for App Check
    implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-appcheck-playintegrity")
}

Finally, in your Kotlin code, initialize App Check before using any other Firebase SDK:

Firebase.initialize(context)
Firebase.appCheck.installAppCheckProviderFactory(
    PlayIntegrityAppCheckProviderFactory.getInstance(),
)

To enhance the security of your generative AI feature, you should implement and enforce App Check before releasing your app to production. Additionally, if your app utilizes other Firebase services like Firebase Authentication, Firestore, or Cloud Functions, App Check provides an extra layer of protection for those resources as well.

Once App Check is enforced, you'll be able to monitor your app's requests in the Firebase console.

You can learn more about App Check on Android in the Firebase documentation.

Use Remote Config for server-controlled configuration

The generative AI landscape evolves quickly. Every few months, new Gemini model iterations become available and some models are removed. See the Vertex AI in Firebase Gemini models page for details.

Because of this, instead of hardcoding the model name in your app, we recommend using a server-controlled variable using Firebase Remote Config. This allows you to dynamically update the model your app uses without having to deploy a new version of your app or require your users to pick up a new version.

You define parameters that you want to control (like model name) using the Firebase console. Then, you add these parameters into your app, along with default "fallback" values for each parameter. Back in the Firebase console, you can change the value of these parameters at any time. Your app will automatically fetch the new value.

Here's how to implement Remote Config in your app:

// Initialize the remote configuration by defining the refresh time
val remoteConfig: FirebaseRemoteConfig = Firebase.remoteConfig
val configSettings = remoteConfigSettings {
    minimumFetchIntervalInSeconds = 3600
}
remoteConfig.setConfigSettingsAsync(configSettings)

// Set default values defined in your app resources 
remoteConfig.setDefaultsAsync(R.xml.remote_config_defaults)

// Load the model name
val modelName = remoteConfig.getString("model_name")

Read more about using Remote Config with Vertex AI in Firebase.

Gather user feedback to evaluate impact

As you roll out your AI-enabled feature to production, it's critical to build feedback mechanisms into your product and allow users to easily signal whether the AI output was helpful, accurate, or relevant. For example, you can incorporate interactive elements such as thumb-up and thumb-down buttons and detailed feedback forms within the user interface. The Material Icons in Compose package provides ready to use icons to help you implement it.

You can easily track the user interaction with these elements as custom analytics events by using Google Analytics logEvent() function:

Row {
   Button (
      onClick = {
         firebaseAnalytics.logEvent("model_response_feedback") {
            param("feedback", "thumb_up")
         }
      }
   ) {
      Icon(Icons.Default.ThumbUp, contentDescription = "Thumb up")
   },
   Button (
      onClick = {
         firebaseAnalytics.logEvent("model_response_feedback") {
            param("feedback", "thumb_down")
         }
      }
   ) {
      Icon(Icons.Default.ThumbDown, contentDescription = "Thumb down")
   }
}

Learn more about Google Analytics and its event logging capabilities in the Firebase documentation.

User privacy and responsible AI

When you use Vertex AI in Firebase for inference, you have the guarantee that the data sent to Google won't be used by Google to train AI models (see Vertex AI documentation for details).

It's also important to be transparent with your users when they're engaging with generative AI technology. You should highlight the possibility of unexpected model behavior.

Finally, users should have control within your app over how their activity related to AI model interactions is stored and deleted.

You can learn more about how Google is approaching Generative AI responsibly in the Google Cloud documentation.

29 Jan 2025 5:00pm GMT

Posted by JJ Zou - Product Manager, and Scott Lin - Product Manager

At Google Play, we're committed to empowering you with the tools and resources you need to build successful and secure apps that users can rely on. That's why we're introducing a new way to recognize VPN apps that go above and beyond to protect their users: a "Verified" badge for consumer-facing VPN apps.

This new badge is designed to highlight apps that prioritize user privacy and safety, help users make more informed choices about the VPN apps they use, and build confidence in the apps they ultimately download. This badge complements existing features such as the Google Play Store banner for VPNs and Data Safety section declaration in the Play Store.

Build user trust with more transparency

Earning the VPN badge isn't just about checking a box- it's proof that your VPN app invests in app safety. This badge signifies that your app has gone above and beyond, adhering to the Play safety and security guidelines and successfully completed a Mobile Application Security Assessment (MASA) Level 2 validation.

The VPN badge helps your app stand out in a crowded marketplace. Once awarded, the badge is prominently displayed on your app's details page and in search results. Additionally, we have built new surfaces to showcase verified VPN applications.

Demonstrating commitment to security and safety

We're excited to share insights from some of our partners who have already earned the VPN badge and are leading the way in building a safe and trusted Google Play ecosystem. Learn how partners like NordVPN, hide.me, and Aloha are using the badge and implementing best practices for user security:

NordVPN

"We're excited that the new 'Verified' badge will help users easily identify VPNs that meet high standards for security and privacy. In a market where trust is key, this badge not only provides reassurance to customers, but also highlights the integrity of developers committed to delivering secure and reliable products."

hide.me

"Privacy and user safety are fundamental to our VPN's architecture. The MASA program has been valuable in validating our security practices and maintaining high standards. This accreditation provides independent verification of our commitment to protecting user privacy."

Aloha Browser

"The certification process is well-organized and accessible to any company. If your product is developed with security as a core focus, passing the required audits should not pose any difficulty. We regularly conduct third-party audits and have been active participants in the MASA program since its inception. Additionally, it fosters discipline in your development practices, knowing that regular re-certification is required. Ultimately, it's the end user who benefits the most-a secure and satisfied user is the ultimate goal for every app developer."

Getting your App Badge-Ready

To take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your app's profile and attract more users, learn more about the specific criteria and start the validation process today.

To be considered for the "Verified" badge, your VPN app needs to:

28 Jan 2025 6:00pm GMT