Android 12 beta 2 lands with Privacy Dashboard in tow

Last month, Google rolled out the first beta of Android 12 during Google I / O 2021. However, prior to this rollout, Google promised many new features that weren’t included in this beta.

Thankfully, some of these promised features are appearing in Android 12 Beta 2, which is being rolled out now. This includes the data protection dashboard function as well as a number of other data protection and security optimizations. There’s also a new way to connect to networks that is very reminiscent of Samsung’s One UI.

Connected: Android 12 Beta at your fingertips: The most personal Android version to date

However, the feature that people look forward to most – the context-aware aesthetic redesign – is still MIA.

You need Pixel 3 / 3XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL, Pixel 4/4 XL, Pixel 4a / 4a 5G, or Pixel 5 to install Android 12 Beta 2. Don’t have a pixel yet? Check out our summary of other offers for individual OEMs here. If you’ve already installed the beta, you should receive an OTA notification shortly.

With Apple making sweeping changes to its privacy and security policies related to the iPhone, it was inevitable that Google would have to act. Part of that answer is the new privacy dashboard. Google gave us a lot of information about this on Google I / O. However, now we can actually try.

Connected: Android 12 Release Date: When Can You Expect It To Launch?

As the name suggests, the privacy dashboard in Android 12 Beta 2 gives you an overview of your privacy situation on your phone. As with Google’s digital wellbeing, this one-stop shop should help you see if there is anything you want to change on your phone to make it more secure.

We have a full breakdown of what we know about the privacy dashboard so far here.

Other privacy and security features

In addition to the data protection dashboard, Google showed new functions for microphone and camera security at Google I / O. As with the dashboard, however, these features were not present in the first beta. Fortunately, the Android 12 Beta 2 has it!

First, there are indicators for microphone and camera usage that appear in the top right corner. These are displayed when an app uses one of these systems. This should give you the assurance that if you don’t see the icons, the systems are not in use.

See also: How to install Android 12 Beta – a step-by-step guide

Also, if you’d like to turn them off manually so apps can’t access them, there’s a toggle for that. As seen in the GIF above, you can easily turn off the microphone, camera, or both using the redesigned Quick Tiles.

Finally, the operating system will now notify you with a toast notification when an app accesses your clipboard contents. The notification will not be sent if the content of the clipboard comes from the same app. This is a great way to know that sensitive information you’ve copied isn’t getting passed on to apps you’re not expecting.

Changes to connectivity

The Android 12 Beta 2 introduces a new way to interact with your network connections. In Android 11, as with most Android versions before, a long press on your Wi-Fi Quick Tile takes you to the network area of ​​the Android settings. Now, however, you get a nifty popup with the most commonly used switches and links.

This is very reminiscent of Samsung’s One UI, which has a similar feature. Between this and the redesigned pages in Android settings, it’s clear that Google is taking inspiration from One UI with Android 12.

These are the big changes with Android 12 Beta 2! As usual, we’ll likely see more changes in this update later in the day, so stay tuned for more information.