All the key upgrades you need to know about

Google has improved the privacy features for Android over the past few years. Android 11 introduced some nifty privacy upgrades by automatically revoking unused app permissions, introducing scoped storage, and more. Now Android 12 wants to make things even better.

Android 12 privacy features

At I / O 2021, Google announced new data protection functions for Android 12 to make data collection by apps more transparent. The new tools give users more precise control over app permissions to better manage how and when apps access their information. Let’s take a look at some of the major privacy improvements in Android 12.

Privacy dashboard

Android 12 introduces a new privacy dashboard that allows users to see in detail how apps are accessing their information. When you open it, you’ll see a summary dashboard that gives you an idea of ​​how many apps have accessed your location, camera, and microphone over the past 24 hours.

You can get more detailed details by tapping the dedicated options for each of the three permissions. Doing so allows you to see an extensive timeline of apps having used that particular permission over the course of a day. You can also see how long an app has been using a permission and whether it has been used in the background or in the foreground.

The privacy dashboard takes into account all apps on your device, including third-party and Google apps.

Manage permissions

In the new privacy dashboard for Android 12, users can access an option to optimize app permissions. The Timeline View page displays a Permissions Management setting that allows you to revoke a specific permission on an app.

Microphone and camera permissions

Another data protection function to improve transparency under Android 12 are the new microphone and camera displays. You will now see a green pill-shaped icon in the top right corner of your screen when your phone’s microphone and camera sensors are in use. If you tap on it, you can find out exactly which app is using the sensors in real time. You can also directly revoke permissions from this notification if you don’t want an app to use your microphone and camera.

There are times when you want to completely revoke your phone’s microphone and camera access. Perhaps you are in a very sensitive meeting or in an environment where you are not satisfied with apps that are listening and watching. Android 12 lets you completely block access to microphones and cameras with new options in the quick settings menu. You can click it to revoke microphone and camera permissions for all apps on your device at the same time.

Approximate location permissions

Many apps require access to your exact location in order to function properly. Take Google Maps, for example. The app can’t give you directions if it doesn’t know exactly where you are. However, a weather app may not need such precise location access. It can probably still give you the weather forecast for your general area, and that’s good enough.

With this in mind, Google introduced approximate location permissions for Android 12. You can now choose the approximate or exact location of the location permissions you want to give an app. The approximate location option feeds apps with a fuzzy location instead of pinpointing exactly where you are.

Private Compute Core

Under the hood, Google’s Private Compute Core for Android is also getting an upgrade. Artificial intelligence and machine learning systems that deal with user data are isolated from the rest of the operating system.

Google is already using Android Private Compute Core for features like smart replies and live subtitles. Now the company is making sure it works without access to a network, increasing privacy and security.

When will the new privacy features of Android 12 come?

According to a blog post by Android developers (h / t 9to5Google), most of the privacy settings – including the privacy dashboard – will be set to Android 12 Beta 2. However, for now, the approximate location permissions feature is available which you can use to test if Beta 1 is installed. Beta 2 is expected to be available next month.

So that was all of the major privacy features and tools available on Android 12. Google has promised to add more privacy features to Android 12 later this year. Which new feature do you think will be most useful for you? Take our survey above and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Also read: Android 12 Redesign: What You Need To Know