diff --git a/android/config.go b/android/config.go
index 30be7d60b..72ff2247a 100644
--- a/android/config.go
+++ b/android/config.go
@@ -170,6 +170,19 @@ func (c Config) RunningInsideUnitTest() bool {
 	return c.config.TestProductVariables != nil
 }
 
+// DisableHiddenApiChecks returns true if hiddenapi checks have been disabled.
+// For 'eng' target variant hiddenapi checks are disabled by default for performance optimisation,
+// but can be enabled by setting environment variable ENABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true.
+// For other target variants hiddenapi check are enabled by default but can be disabled by
+// setting environment variable UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true.
+// If both ENABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true and UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true, then
+// ENABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true will be triggered and hiddenapi checks will be considered enabled.
+func (c Config) DisableHiddenApiChecks() bool {
+	return !c.IsEnvTrue("ENABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS") &&
+		(c.IsEnvTrue("UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS") ||
+			Bool(c.productVariables.Eng))
+}
+
 // MaxPageSizeSupported returns the max page size supported by the device. This
 // value will define the ELF segment alignment for binaries (executables and
 // shared libraries).
diff --git a/java/hiddenapi.go b/java/hiddenapi.go
index d25096b15..4d08b8307 100644
--- a/java/hiddenapi.go
+++ b/java/hiddenapi.go
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ func (h *hiddenAPI) initHiddenAPI(ctx android.ModuleContext, dexJar OptionalDexJ
 	h.uncompressDexState = uncompressedDexState
 
 	// If hiddenapi processing is disabled treat this as inactive.
-	if ctx.Config().IsEnvTrue("UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS") {
+	if ctx.Config().DisableHiddenApiChecks() {
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/java/hiddenapi_singleton.go b/java/hiddenapi_singleton.go
index 714634f58..8ec17971a 100644
--- a/java/hiddenapi_singleton.go
+++ b/java/hiddenapi_singleton.go
@@ -121,8 +121,8 @@ type hiddenAPISingleton struct {
 
 // hiddenAPI singleton rules
 func (h *hiddenAPISingleton) GenerateBuildActions(ctx android.SingletonContext) {
-	// Don't run any hiddenapi rules if UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true
-	if ctx.Config().IsEnvTrue("UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS") {
+	// Don't run any hiddenapi rules if hiddenapi checks are disabled
+	if ctx.Config().DisableHiddenApiChecks() {
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/java/platform_bootclasspath.go b/java/platform_bootclasspath.go
index a4bba486d..ade739552 100644
--- a/java/platform_bootclasspath.go
+++ b/java/platform_bootclasspath.go
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ func (b *platformBootclasspathModule) DepsMutator(ctx android.BottomUpMutatorCon
 }
 
 func (b *platformBootclasspathModule) hiddenAPIDepsMutator(ctx android.BottomUpMutatorContext) {
-	if ctx.Config().IsEnvTrue("UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS") {
+	if ctx.Config().DisableHiddenApiChecks() {
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -275,10 +275,10 @@ func (b *platformBootclasspathModule) generateHiddenAPIBuildActions(ctx android.
 
 	bootDexJarByModule := extractBootDexJarsFromModules(ctx, modules)
 
-	// Don't run any hiddenapi rules if UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS=true. This is a performance
+	// Don't run any hiddenapi rules if hidden api checks are disabled. This is a performance
 	// optimization that can be used to reduce the incremental build time but as its name suggests it
 	// can be unsafe to use, e.g. when the changes affect anything that goes on the bootclasspath.
-	if ctx.Config().IsEnvTrue("UNSAFE_DISABLE_HIDDENAPI_FLAGS") {
+	if ctx.Config().DisableHiddenApiChecks() {
 		paths := android.OutputPaths{b.hiddenAPIFlagsCSV, b.hiddenAPIIndexCSV, b.hiddenAPIMetadataCSV}
 		for _, path := range paths {
 			ctx.Build(pctx, android.BuildParams{