Android 12 And 12L Reach End-Of-Life As Google Stops Security Updates
Summary
- Google has ended official security patch support for Android 12 and 12L as of March 31, 2025, leaving a large portion of users potentially vulnerable.
- Devices that were last updated to Android 12, such as the Pixel 3a, Galaxy S10 series, and OnePlus 7 series, will no longer receive core OS security updates directly from Google, shifting the responsibility to device manufacturers or alternative OS options.
- Users still on Android 12 should consider upgrading their devices for continued security or repurposing their old phones for less sensitive tasks.
As of March 2025, roughly 12.43 percent of Android users worldwide are still running the 2021-released Android 12. Those users, as of March 31, 2025, are not protected against potentially upcoming security threats at the core OS level.
For reference, Google modifies security patches and backports them to older Android builds while they are still within the official support window. That support window, for Android 12 and its tablet and large-screen-friendly sibling Android 12L, has come to an end.
Related
For reference, Google published its Android Security Bulletin for the month of April 2025 earlier this month, containing details of security vulnerabilities affecting Android devices and security patch levels that address those issues. Notably absent from the list of Android versions with available patches was Android 12 (and 12L). The folks over at Android Authority probed Google regarding the omission, and the tech giant confirmed that it is no longer supporting Android 12 and 12L with security patch backports.
March 2025’s bulletin was the last to list patches for Android 12 and 12L. This means that devices like Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Galaxy S10 series, OnePlus 7 series, and others will no longer receive official Android OS security updates from Google.
It might be time to repurpose your old phone
Related
With official patches now out of the picture, the onus of keeping users safe falls on device manufacturers. Alternatively, hopping onto open-source alternatives like LineageOS might be your best bet.
Android 12 arrived in 2021, and at the time, offered the biggest interface change since Android 5 Lollipop. It introduced Material You, which Android still uses heavily, Universal Search, which made it seamless to find contacts, apps, settings, and more, better permission management with quick toggles, granular location permissions, a privacy dashboard, and a lot more.
Related
