# ProGuard/R8: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 4 judge labels across 1 category by 4 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/proguard-r8-2

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Application shielding](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/application-shielding/index.md) | 2% | 12 | 0% | 4 |

## What the models said for it

- "Prefer open-source or transparent alternatives: ProGuard / R8 (standard in modern Android builds)" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, App shielding)
- "Android only, minimum spend: start with ProGuard/R8 built-in" (Muse Glimmer 30B, App shielding)
- "Excellent for basic code shrinking, optimization, and obfuscation on Android... It's zero-cost but requires more manual setup." (Grok 4.20, App shielding)
- "combine Free-RASP (free) with ProGuard/R8 (built into Android)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, App shielding)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named ProGuard/R8, from 10 of the 10 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- g2.com: 9
- guideflow.com: 7
- softwaresuggest.com: 5
- gane.ai/index: 4
- github.com: 4
- luciq.ai: 4
- sourceforge.net: 4
- guardsquare.com: 3
- nerdisa.com: 3
- onespan.com: 3

### Pages cited

- https://guideflow.com/blog/application-shielding-software: 7
- https://g2.com/categories/application-shielding: 5
- https://softwaresuggest.com/application-shielding-software: 5
- https://g2.com/categories/application-shielding/small-business: 4
- https://luciq.ai/blog/top-mobile-app-protection-and-shielding-tools: 4
- https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/application-shielding/enterprise: 3
- https://github.com/topics/app-shielding: 3
- https://nerdisa.com/best-application-shielding-software: 3

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.