Google Leaves Millions of Smartphones Without Security Updates – Android 12 Support Ended

Users of Android 12 and 12L devices will no longer receive security updates from Google. The company stopped supporting these versions of the operating system on March 31, 2025. Device manufacturers must now fix vulnerabilities themselves, but not all will be able to do so.

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According to the April Android security bulletin published last week, security patches for vulnerabilities are no longer being released for Android 12 and 12L, leaving owners of devices running those OS versions without official protection against the latest cyberthreats. According to Android Authority, the March security bulletin was the last one to mention patches for those systems.

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Device makers who want to continue supporting Android 12 must roll out security updates themselves. This is possible for big companies like Huawei, whose EMUI skin for its smartphones is still based on Android 12. But it could be a challenge for brands with limited resources.

Experts recommend considering upgrading Android 12 or 12L to a more modern version of the OS or replacing the device. Although Google apps and Project Mainline modules (the component update system) may continue to receive updates, the core of the system will remain vulnerable. Therefore, experts advise using devices on these operating systems only as a media player or a surveillance camera.

As a reminder, Android 12 was released on October 4, 2021, and Android 12L was released on March 7, 2022. This brings the support period to about 3.5 years, which is in line with Google’s standard practice of ensuring the security of previous versions of Android.