In my first impressions of Android 12, I highlighted privacy as one of the most important features of Google’s new operating system. And since transparency plays a big role in Android 12, in this article I’ll explore how your privacy dashboard is. It can be used better.
Contents:
privacy control panel
You better know which apps can use your site / © NextPit
Privacy Dashboard is a new option included in Android 12 is integrated into the system. Here you can easily check which apps have recently got permissions like Camera, Location and Microphone. This way, it becomes much easier to know how many times the application has had to use such components. You can also revoke permissions from this screen.
To do this, simply call up the Android 12 system settings:
- Opens system configuration
- Go to option data protection
- open file data protection area
In the settings you have more control over which apps abuse access rights on mobile / © NextPit
Under Data Protection, you can check which apps have access to what in the last 24 hours. You get it right, the system offers a timeline for each approval. On this screen, you’ll also see a link to the permission settings for each service, from files and media to sensors.
In this way, you can quickly find out which applications are using your smartphone’s resources. And if abuse is found, the permissions previously granted to a service can be revoked. It will also be possible to quickly deactivate some system functions using the Quick Access Bar.
Quick access bar
System functions such as microphone and camera can be deactivated using quick access boxes / © NextPit
Further improvement to privacy can be found in the quick access to system functions in Android 12. In addition to location, access to the camera and microphone can now also be quickly blocked. Simply follow the path below:
- Slide your finger across the top and bottom twice Quick access bar
- Tap the pencil icon in the lower left corner of the quick settings panel (this step may vary depending on the smartphone model)
- Looking for shortcuts LocationAnd MicrophoneGrave And Camera access and move it to the quick settings panel
- Then just click on the appropriate option to block or unblock access
This is how you can revoke access / © NextPit
System resource usage
Camera and microphone access is quickly recognized / © NextPit
In addition to the above options, a warning about system resource usage is displayed in the notification bar in Android 12 if the app uses the phone’s camera or microphone. If the service was using the site, things would look different. In this case, the location icon will appear in the notification bar as it is today Android 11 is the case.
Once activated, the camera or microphone usage indicator quickly displays an icon for the function in use. However, it will soon change to a small green dot, on the right side of the notification bar. This point means that an application is using system functionality. When you see the green dot, do the following:
- Slide your finger across the top and bottom twice Notification bar
- The period takes the form of an icon representing the function – camera or microphone – in use
- Click the icon for the component you are using and a popup will appear to the application requesting access.
From here you can access the information of the app in question and remove the access permissions if necessary.
The green dot in the notification bar indicates mobile resource usage / © NextPit
private computing core
According to recent rumors, we assume that Google will launch new models Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro on September 13th – so Android 12 is pretty close. As we already know, the sixth generation of the Pixel range is built using the new and exclusive Google processor: the Tensor.
Key features of this SoC include a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as well as data protection ensured by the integration of the Titan-M2 module.
On the software side, we have the “Android Private Compute Core” technology, which processes personal data in Android 12 directly in the mobile phone. This gives us a secure partition on the system – similar to the one for storing passwords and vital data – that focuses on processing data from AI and ML functions. This means that the data remains in a private place and is still available for system-wide functions.
And so he took jobs like Live Caption, Smart Replay or play now All audio, content and speech processing is on the device itself, and is isolated from the network to protect user privacy. This way, you can get personalized suggestions based on your interactions with people, apps, and content.
How can we guarantee this? When a smartphone saves information to make personalized suggestions, it is encrypted before it is saved. The smartphone does not save any information that is used to make personalized suggestions in your Google account. The exception is information used in app suggestions – because if you switch phones, the system can still recommend apps.
This way all information is encrypted when making the backup. In addition, the protection mechanisms of Private Compute Core are open source and accessible to the entire security community. This function can also be accessed directly from the system settings:
- open file system configuration
- moved to Data Protection > Private Account Center
Private Account Center: When the phone saves information to make individual suggestions, it is encrypted before it is saved / © NextPit
Here you can see the information stored directly on the mobile phone. These include b. Captions for videos, podcasts, audios, and calls, as well as actions related to notifications or text suggestions. In this menu, you can also deactivate keyboard suggestions or delete data saved by the system.
The Privacy Panel and all the functions mentioned in this article have been tested in Android 12 beta 4 (SPB4.210715.014) on a Pixel 3. Therefore, some settings or information may change with the release of the official release of the new operating system and also depends on the smartphone model you are using. you use.
What do you think of the new functionality to protect privacy and transparency when using the OS functions that will be available in the next Android release?
