Android 15 Will Give Users More Control Over Health Connect Data (APK Breakdown)

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority

In short

Android 15 will introduce a “Backup and Restore” feature for the Health Connect app, allowing users to back up their data to the cloud with options for daily, weekly, or monthly backups.
This feature may only be available on devices running Android 15 or later and does not allow you to back up to local storage. You will need to use a cloud service provider to restore your data.
Health Connect backup data will be encrypted for security purposes, but it is unclear whether this will require your Google account password or device PIN/password.

Google plans to give users more control over their Health Connect data with an upcoming Android 15 update. Specifically, a new option in Health Connect settings will finally allow users to back up and restore that data.

Some APK Demolition helps predict features that might appear in the service in the future based on code in the works. However, it is possible that such predicted features will not be released publicly.

Android Power Assemble Debug contributor found evidence of a new “Backup and restore” feature in Health Connect in code. It’s part of the Health Connect module in Android 15, not the Health Connect app you can download from the Google Play Store. That means that when the feature launches, it may not be available on devices running older versions of Android.

For context, Health Connect is part of the Android system in Android 14. You can access it by going to Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Health ConnectOn older versions of Android that support Health Connect, including Android 13, Health Connect is a publicly available app that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

The code strings associated with the new “Backup and Restore” feature suggest that users will be able to back up their Health Connect data daily, weekly, or monthly. Google will also allow users to choose their preferred cloud storage provider to store their backup data. Right now, it looks like there will be no option to save your data locally on your device. The string in the source code says that if you select a backup file from local storage, you will get an “invalid” error and will be asked to choose a cloud provider app from which to restore your data.

Code

<string name="import_invalid_storage" description="Message shown to the user when they pick a 
local storage app instead of a cloud storage app to import their data from. (CHAR_LIMIT=NONE)">Please 
choose a storage app to import your data</string>

Exported Health Connect data is also password-encrypted, which limits unauthorized access. It is unclear whether this would require a Google account password or a device PIN/password.

Assemble Debug also found further evidence of this feature in the latest Google Play Services beta. We’ll keep an eye out for it when Android 15 is released and let you know when the feature becomes available.

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