Google Jelly Bean Bug Causes Defect in Android Apps

Google introduced paid app encryption with the launch of their latest Android OS version, dubbed Jelly Bean, to prevent illegal distribution of purchased downloaded apps. A device-specific key is encoded into each purchased app, so copying them to other devices will render them unusable.

However, a system startup code defect in Android 4.1 OS corrupts the files and causes frustration when users try launching the purchased apps. Re-downloading them fixes the issue as Google appears to have disabled the security feature.

Jelly Bean users will download purchased apps in unencrypted format, circumventing the startup code bug that plagues Google`s latest Android OS build. Google issued no comments as to when the App Encryption security feature will be re-enabled.

Google’s Android bug database has the issue listed as genuine and it features valuable user feedback on how the error manifests. Until a fix is produced and delivered through a firmware update, Google is likely to stop using DRM app encryption.

Jelly Bean developers are most affected by the defect as piracy will continue to affect revenue. With most devices still running Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread), this glitch is restricted to a handful of Jelly Bean-ready devices.