Android Studio
Android Studio is Google’s official tool for writing, building and testing Android apps. It’s made by Google, based in the United States.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from developer.android.com.
What it is
Android Studio is used to make Android apps. It includes a code editor, testing tools and an emulator that runs a virtual Android device on the Mac.
It reads and changes app project files and runs tools that turn code into apps. Its emulator can use the Mac’s camera and microphone for testing when those features are enabled.
It is Google’s official Android development tool. Its optional Gemini assistant can receive code you choose to share; in the free edition, that code may be used to improve Google’s models.
Who makes it
Google is a US technology company founded in 1998 and owned by Alphabet. Its legal name is Google LLC. Its website is google.com.
Google makes other software with flaws that attackers have used. Its page in Companies lists them.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
The real Android Studio is signed by Google LLC, Apple team ID EQHXZ8M8AV. A copy signed by anyone else isn’t from Google. HARD’s Mac app checks this for you; to check by hand, open Terminal and run codesign -dv "/Applications/Android Studio.app", and look for that TeamIdentifier.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is com.google.android.studio. Download it only from developer.android.com, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In 2023, an Android developer community post reported a fake Android Studio download site that copied the official page.
What it connects to
In normal use, Android Studio talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
dl.google.com | Downloads Android tools and Google build libraries. |
maven.google.com | Provides Google’s Android build libraries. |
repo.maven.apache.org | Downloads libraries from Maven Central during builds. |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Camera | Lets the Android Emulator use the Mac’s webcam to test camera features. |
| Microphone | Lets the Android Emulator receive microphone audio for testing when host microphone access is enabled. |
Security record
Problems with Android Studio or Google in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Attackers stole business contact information from Google’s corporate Salesforce system; Google cut off access and notified affected organisations. | ↗ | |
| A critical GitHub plug-in flaw could expose access tokens; Android Studio Jellyfish 2023.3.1 Patch 2 fixed it, and Google advised affected users to revoke their tokens. | ↗ |
References
- Download Android Studio — includes Google LLC’s legal name and address developer.android.com
- Android Studio Mac build configuration — bundle identifier android.googlesource.com
- Google’s history about.google
- Alphabet subsidiaries — Google LLC abc.xyz
- Meet Android Studio developer.android.com
- Update the IDE and SDK tools developer.android.com
- Android Studio release notes developer.android.com
- Create and manage virtual devices — webcam use developer.android.com
- Android Emulator extended controls — microphone access developer.android.com
- Gemini in Android Studio — data and privacy developer.android.com
- Manage remote repositories developer.android.com
- Gradle repository documentation — Maven Central address docs.gradle.org
- Community report of a fake Android Studio download site reddit.com
- Google’s corporate Salesforce incident disclosure cloud.google.com
- Android Studio Jellyfish release notes — GitHub plug-in security fix developer.android.com
- The signature on a real installed copy, read by HARD with
codesign.