You have probably received a notification from a wearable app for your smartwatch or headphones to give permission for your location. From Android 12, that notification will disappear – developers will ask for permission to find ‘nearby devices’ from that moment on.
Nearby devices
Last Tuesday, Google rolled out the first beta version of Android 12. At the opening presentation of Google I/O 2021, the annual developer conference of the search giant, Google announced that it wanted to address users’ privacy concerns.
According to the company, the new Android version is the company’s most ambitious step to protect users’ privacy. Android 12 will have to fulfill the claim with, among other things, the arrival of a privacy dashboard in the settings menu. For the first time, users can also completely switch off their cameras and microphones, which prevents apps from using them.
The third improvement to Android 12 has to do with the permission of wearable apps for connecting devices. Wearable apps currently have to provide location permission to users, when they really only need Bluetooth permission to search for the right device in the vicinity. Although wearable apps cannot access your location, the notification was considered controversial by many users. What if the app would later request your location via an update.
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Google’s solution for this is Near Devices, a new privacy feature in Android 12. Users who agree to the Near Devices notifications in the future allow apps to “find, connect to and relative position of nearby devices. determine ”. Within this permission, wearable apps can use Bluetooth, so that a watch or headphones can be connected more easily.
Android 12 Beta
With the new permission, it becomes ‘less confusing’ for users about what an app is actually asking for permission. If you are currently installing the Android 12 Beta update, it is unlikely that the Nearby devices permission will already work in (one of) your wearable apps.
Apps will have to be adapted by developers for such new features. In addition, Android 12 will only use the final APIs from the second Beta. At the same time, it is a good prospect for the stable Android 12 version, which may be presented in September.
Other privacy features, such as turning off your microphone or camera, are already present in Android 12. If you have a phone that can run the Android 12 Beta, you can get acquainted with it. Mind you, the first Android 12 Beta can be unstable in some areas. If you use the phone every day, we do not recommend installing the beta update.
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