diff --git a/shell/platform/android/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragment.java b/shell/platform/android/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragment.java
index 365e6984f0b07..e7fd64ab91bc5 100644
--- a/shell/platform/android/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragment.java
+++ b/shell/platform/android/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragment.java
@@ -705,7 +705,7 @@ public <T extends FlutterFragment> T build() {
   // Delegate that runs all lifecycle and OS hook logic that is common between
   // FlutterActivity and FlutterFragment. See the FlutterActivityAndFragmentDelegate
   // implementation for details about why it exists.
-  @VisibleForTesting @Nullable /* package */ FlutterActivityAndFragmentDelegate delegate;
+  @VisibleForTesting @Nullable protected FlutterActivityAndFragmentDelegate delegate;
 
   private final OnBackPressedCallback onBackPressedCallback =
       new OnBackPressedCallback(true) {
diff --git a/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterActivityTest.java b/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterActivityTest.java
index c0fccca8ddae7..a242f531070e7 100644
--- a/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterActivityTest.java
+++ b/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterActivityTest.java
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@
 import io.flutter.embedding.engine.plugins.activity.ActivityPluginBinding;
 import io.flutter.embedding.engine.plugins.activity.ActivityPluginBinding.OnSaveInstanceStateListener;
 import io.flutter.plugins.GeneratedPluginRegistrant;
+import java.lang.reflect.Field;
+import java.lang.reflect.Modifier;
 import java.util.List;
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
@@ -466,6 +468,19 @@ public void fullyDrawn() {
     }
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void itCanBeAccessibleFromSubclass() {
+    // To ensure that FlutterActivityAndFragmentDelegate is
+    // accessible to FlutterActivity subclasses.
+    try {
+      Field field = FlutterActivity.class.getDeclaredField("delegate");
+      field.setAccessible(true);
+      assertTrue(Modifier.isProtected(field.getModifiers()));
+    } catch (Exception e) {
+      assertTrue(false);
+    }
+  }
+
   static class FlutterActivityWithProvidedEngine extends FlutterActivity {
     @Override
     @SuppressLint("MissingSuperCall")
diff --git a/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragmentTest.java b/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragmentTest.java
index 1a901b7e40a8a..e814e9ab17d5d 100644
--- a/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragmentTest.java
+++ b/shell/platform/android/test/io/flutter/embedding/android/FlutterFragmentTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 import io.flutter.embedding.engine.FlutterEngineCache;
 import io.flutter.embedding.engine.FlutterJNI;
 import io.flutter.embedding.engine.loader.FlutterLoader;
+import java.lang.reflect.Field;
+import java.lang.reflect.Modifier;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
@@ -221,4 +223,17 @@ public void handleOnBackPressed() {
     verify(mockDelegate, never()).onBackPressed();
     assertTrue(onBackPressedCalled.get());
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void itCanBeAccessibleFromSubclass() {
+    // To ensure that FlutterActivityAndFragmentDelegate is
+    // accessible to FlutterFragment subclasses.
+    try {
+      Field field = FlutterFragment.class.getDeclaredField("delegate");
+      field.setAccessible(true);
+      assertTrue(Modifier.isProtected(field.getModifiers()));
+    } catch (Exception e) {
+      assertTrue(false);
+    }
+  }
 }