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If you are using an Android phone with software earlier than 7.1.1 Nougat, you may want to start checking for a device update.
This is especially important if you normally browse large portions of the web with your phone.
According to the Android Police, the certificate authority that allows users to safely browse the web, Let’s Encrypt, has warned people that users with phones running older versions of Android will not trust their root certificate from of 2021.
This will block users from large parts of the web.
On January 11, 2021, Let’s Encrypt will stop all default certificate cross-signing, and on September 1 later in the year, the cross-signature association will be removed entirely. This means that users running version 7.1.1 Nougat will not be able to access much of the web on their mobile browsers.
However, there is a way around all of this. But it can be extremely tedious and will not necessarily prevent apps from breaking beyond the browser.
That is, if you don’t mind using Mozilla Firefox as your default mobile web browser. If, like me and many other Android users, you use Google Chrome, unfortunately you will not be able to access large areas of the Internet if you do not make the change. Of course, this really only applies to those using pre-Nougat versions of Android.
Mozilla happens to be a Let’s Encrypt partner. It also uses its own certificate store, which will allow users to access the Internet as a whole.
But if your Android device is running older software and you’re not willing to switch to Firefox, you really have no choice but to update your phone.
If you think you can bear not having access to much of the web, think again. Let’s Encrypt certificates are used by roughly 30 percent of all web domains in the world, essentially banning you from accessing millions of websites if you choose not to switch to Firefox or upgrade your device.
According to Let’s Encrypt, approximately 33.8 percent of Android users on the Google Play Store run pre-Nougat software.
So if you’re using a phone that you bought in 2016 or 2017, you’re likely to lose access to 30 percent of the internet if you’re trying to access it from a mobile web browser.
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Cover image from Well Doing.
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