feat(android): warn user when third-party accessibility service active before seed phrase reveal by xAlisher · Pull Request #20971 · status-im/status-app

xAlisher · 2026-05-20T11:11:43Z

Closes #20965

What this does

Before revealing the recovery phrase, check whether any third-party accessibility service is active on the device. If so, show an informed-consent dialog that:

Lists the service names in a bulleted list (e.g. "ChatGPT screen help", "Link to Windows")
Links directly to Settings > Accessibility so the user can disable services they don't trust
Offers Cancel (stays hidden) or Reveal anyway (proceeds with reveal)

If no third-party services are active, reveal proceeds without interruption.

This applies to both the Settings → Back up recovery phrase flow (BackupSeedphraseReveal.qml) and the onboarding seed phrase display flow (SeedPhrase.qml).

Implementation

Java (Android)

AccessibilityServiceHelper.java — new class; queries AccessibilityManager for enabled services, filters out system/OEM packages (com.android.*, com.google.*, com.samsung.*, com.sec.*) and the app's own package.
StatusQtActivity.java — adds getThirdPartyA11yServices() instance method and openAccessibilitySettings() static method, both callable from C++ via JNI.

C++ (StatusQ)

systemutilsinternal.h/cpp — exposes activeThirdPartyA11yServices() and openAccessibilitySettings() as Q_INVOKABLE through SystemUtils singleton. Uses QtNative.activity() + callObjectMethod pattern (required for Qt 6.11 — callStaticObjectMethod returning jobject with no arguments has a known varargs issue).

QML

AccessibilityWarningPopup.qml — new StatusDialog using existing design tokens; bulleted service list; Settings > Accessibility deep-link via onLinkActivated.
BackupSeedphraseReveal.qml, SeedPhrase.qml — reveal button onClicked gates on SystemUtils.activeThirdPartyA11yServices(); opens popup if non-empty, reveals directly otherwise.

Test steps

Enable a third-party accessibility service (e.g. ChatGPT Screen Help)
Settings → Back up recovery phrase → Reveal recovery phrase → warning popup appears listing the service
Tap Settings > Accessibility link → opens Android Accessibility Settings
Tap Cancel → popup closes, phrase stays hidden
Tap Reveal again → popup → Reveal anyway → phrase appears
Disable all third-party accessibility services → tap Reveal → no popup, phrase reveals directly

Screenshots

…seed phrase reveal Closes #20965 Before revealing the recovery phrase, check whether any third-party accessibility service is active. If so, show an informed-consent dialog listing the service names, with a link to Android Accessibility Settings and a "Reveal anyway" / "Cancel" choice. Implementation: - AccessibilityServiceHelper.java: queries AccessibilityManager for enabled services, filters out system/OEM packages (com.android.*, com.google.*, com.samsung.*, com.sec.*) and the app itself. - StatusQtActivity.java: adds getThirdPartyA11yServices() instance method (JNI bridge) and openAccessibilitySettings() static method. - systemutilsinternal.cpp/h: exposes both methods as Q_INVOKABLE via QJniObject — uses QtNative.activity() + callObjectMethod pattern to avoid Qt 6.11 varargs issue with callStaticObjectMethod returning jobject. - AccessibilityWarningPopup.qml: new StatusDialog with bulleted service list and a deep-link to Settings > Accessibility. - BackupSeedphraseReveal.qml, SeedPhrase.qml: reveal button onClicked gates on activeThirdPartyA11yServices(); opens popup when non-empty, reveals directly otherwise. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

status-im-auto · 2026-05-20T11:24:45Z

Jenkins Builds

Click to see older builds (11)

❔	Commit	#️⃣	Finished (UTC)	Duration	Platform	Result
✔️	`c616fee`	1	2026-05-20 11:24:45	~12 min	`macos/aarch64`	🍎`dmg`
✔️	`c616fee`	1	2026-05-20 11:35:12	~22 min	`tests/nim`	📄`log`
✔️	`c616fee`	1	2026-05-20 11:41:36	~29 min	`linux/x86_64`	📦`tgz`
✔️	`c616fee`	1	2026-05-20 11:43:06	~30 min	`tests/ui`	📄`log`
✔️	`c616fee`	1	2026-05-20 11:50:52	~38 min	`windows/x86_64`	💿`exe`
✔️	`c616fee`	11341	2026-05-20 12:24:02	~42 min	`tests/e2e`	📊`rpt`
✖️	`c616fee`	3493	2026-05-27 05:47:13	~15 min	`tests/e2e-android`	📦`pkg`

✔️	eb27cba9	2	2026-05-22 05:30:05	~11 min	`android/arm64`	🤖`apk` 📲

✔️	7389eadd	3	2026-05-23 05:29:00	~10 min	`android/arm64`	🤖`apk` 📲

✔️	74a32a51	4	2026-05-26 05:28:47	~10 min	`android/arm64`	🤖`apk` 📲

✔️	220f2892	5	2026-05-27 05:31:50	~13 min	`android/arm64`	🤖`apk` 📲

❔	Commit	#️⃣	Finished (UTC)	Duration	Platform	Result
✔️	4b600bf6	6	2026-05-29 05:32:23	~13 min	`android/arm64`	🤖`apk` 📲

✔️	372d3ccc	7	2026-06-02 05:32:04	~13 min	`android/arm64`	🤖`apk` 📲

caybro · 2026-05-20T14:12:47Z

@xAlisher some screenshot or video of the PR in action would be nice :)

xAlisher · 2026-05-20T15:30:24Z

@caybro here it is

#20965 (comment)

alexjba

Awesome!
Just some suggestions/questions.

Didn't test it though. I can give it a spin tomorrow

alexjba · 2026-05-20T17:45:44Z

+     * Returns a comma-separated list of active third-party accessibility service names,
+     * or an empty string if none are found.
+     *
+     * Filters out known system/OEM packages (com.android.*, com.samsung.*, com.sec.*,


Hmm, why skipping these? I imagine this list is incomplete. If we need to skip Samsung packages, it would probably make sense to include all the other big OEM flavors.

Would it hurt not to skip any of these apps?

Thanks for highlighting it! Yep, it's easy to prepare this list.

But it's more of a strategic than functional decision. Personally I'd be in favour of notifying about all accessibility apps and letting the user decide if they're OK to let Samsung's or whatever Xiaomi's apps access their recovery phrase. From a purist privacy-maxi standpoint this is the only way forward.

Curious what @sunleos thinks — would you be OK with listing all of them and letting the user decide?

Agreed with @sunleos to show all apps.

alexjba · 2026-05-20T17:49:31Z

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+package app.status.mobile;


I'd place all this in the MobileUI repo. It would be exposed to QML directly by MobileUI package. It would mostly mean to move the code there.

Not sure... we need to call it from our C++ internal utils, not directly from QML

But not necessarily probably

caybro · 2026-05-25T11:24:45Z

+        String r = String.join(", ", names);
+        return r;


Suggested change

String r = String.join(", ", names);

return r;

return String.join(",", names);

would work better I guess, ie w/o the space in between

caybro · 2026-05-25T11:26:29Z

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+package app.status.mobile;


Not sure... we need to call it from our C++ internal utils, not directly from QML

caybro · 2026-05-25T11:28:02Z

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+package app.status.mobile;


But not necessarily probably

xAlisher requested review from alexjba, caybro, micieslak and noeliaSD as code owners May 20, 2026 11:11

xAlisher mentioned this pull request May 20, 2026

feat(android): warn user when third-party accessibility service active before seed phrase input (import flow) #20973

Open

alexjba approved these changes May 20, 2026

View reviewed changes

caybro reviewed May 25, 2026

View reviewed changes

xAlisher mentioned this pull request May 25, 2026

feat(security): a11y service warning on all seed phrase screens — design update + filter fix #21026

Open

caybro linked an issue May 25, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

feat(security): a11y service warning on all seed phrase screens — design update + filter fix #21026

Open

	String r = String.join(", ", names);
	return r;
	return String.join(",", names);

Conversation

xAlisher commented May 20, 2026

What this does

Implementation

Test steps

Screenshots

Related

Uh oh!

status-im-auto commented May 20, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Jenkins Builds

Uh oh!

caybro commented May 20, 2026

Uh oh!

xAlisher commented May 20, 2026

Uh oh!

alexjba left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

4 participants

status-im-auto commented May 20, 2026 •

edited

Loading