Android 17 is adding stricter memory controls aimed at isolating apps that consume too much RAM, according to Digital Trends. The report says Google’s approach is to slow or eventually terminate a single runaway app rather than let that app degrade the performance of the whole device. The mechanism is per-app memory budgeting. Digital Trends reports that Google says Android 17 sets memory limits based on a device’s total RAM, with the thresholds designed to catch unusually high memory use before it produces broader symptoms such as interface stutter or extra battery drain. The limits are not uniform across every app session. According to the report, Google says the thresholds are deliberately conservative, so ordinary app use should rarely hit them. The allowance also depends on whether a process is visible to the user. Digital Trends cites Android Open Source Project documentation showing one example: on an 8GB device, a visible process receives a 5GB limit, while a non-visible process receives a 3GB limit. That distinction matters because Android can treat background or non-visible processes differently from apps the user is actively looking at. Crossing the limit does not mean instant termination. Digital Trends reports that Android 17 can first reclaim memory and push inactive data into compressed zRAM. That may make the offending app slower while keeping it alive, instead of immediately forcing Android to clear other useful processes. The harder penalty comes if the app keeps allocating memory. In more extreme cases, such as a memory leak that continues after available swap space is exhausted, Android 17 can terminate the offending process, according to the report. The rules also appear broad in scope. Digital Trends says AOSP documentation indicates preinstalled apps are not exempt, and developers do not get an allowlist that lets their apps bypass the memory-limit system. For users, the visible effect may be modest in normal use: Google reportedly expects typical app sessions to remain below these thresholds. Under heavy memory pressure, however, an app that slows down or closes may be encountering Android 17’s containment system rather than a device-wide failure. Who benefits: Users benefit if Android can preserve overall phone responsiveness when one app consumes excessive memory. Developers with well-behaved apps may also benefit from the system being less likely to sacrifice other useful processes first. Who's exposed: Apps with memory leaks or unusually heavy RAM use are most exposed. The report says preinstalled apps are not exempt, so the policy is not limited to third-party software.