The developers of the Samourai cryptoasset wallet have been forced to remove several headline security features from their Android software wallet, they announced yesterday (Jan 7) in a blog post.

Samourai have been instructed by Google to remove the Stealth Mode, SIM Defense Switch, and Remote SMS Commands features from their newest Android version, due to be released today. The team refer to Google’s “new extremely restrictive policies” which have forced them to make the changes.

The loss of these features will leave “users who rely on those features […] less secure and more exposed.”  They say that the SIM Defense Switch had “[alerted] users countless times to attempted SIM Swap attacks on their SIM Cards.”

Samourai claim to have applied for an exemption to Google’s new policies “months ago,” but their request was apparently rejected only days ago, with the policies set to go into effect tomorrow – giving the team little warning to respond. The Samourai team expressed their frustration, adding that “Google does not care” about any of the security benefits that will be lost in the switch.

What New Policies?

The “new extremely restrictive policies” referred to by the blog post are Google’s updated Developer Policy concerning which apps can access SMS messaging and call log data on users’ phones. From now on, only the principal SMS or phone app in use by the device will have access to the data.

The policy is set to begin being enforced tomorrow, and after that non-compliant apps “may be removed” from the Play Store. It is possible to ask Google for an exemption, but few apps have been able to obtain such a dispensation – including Samourai – with the result that many apps are “crippled.”

According to Android Police, Google has been often criticized for failing to take the needs of small app developers into account.

Samourai Sidesteps Google Play

Because of this reality, Samourai plan to release two versions of their Android app from now on. One will be compliant with Google Play but with reduced functionality and security; while the other will be available for independent download (as an .apk file) directly or from the alternative, open-source Android app website F-Droid.