The app does inevitably require its own series of advanced system-level permissions in order to do what it needs to do, but it's all perfectly justifiable for its purpose (and the permissions are explained clearly upon installation). It actually offers an improvement over the default Android setup in that area, too, as it shows you persistent icons for camera, microphone, and location access instead of showing only cryptic and difficult-to-decipher dots after the first couple seconds. Privacy Dashboard puts valuable app usage info at your fingertips, no matter what Android version you're running.īeyond that, Privacy Dashboard provides universal access to another Android-12-inspired privacy advantage: the ability to see in real time whenever an app is accessing your camera, microphone, or location via a special icon in the upper-right corner of your screen. It also makes it as easy as can be to find and adjust any app's permissions and scale back what sort of data it's able to access - right from that single streamlined interface. Enhance your Android privacy basics Privacy DashboardĪndroid 12 brings a new streamlined app-assessing Privacy Dashboard into the operating system, but if you're still hanging onto a phone with an older Android version, you don't have to miss out.Īn app called Privacy Dashboard emulates the official Android 12 feature of the same name and gives you a helpful overview of exactly which apps have accessed which permissions on your phone and when.

These are the apps that'll actually bring a meaningful boost to your privacy and security on Android. They're less about fighting off theoretical boogeymen and more about proactively protecting your accounts and data. There are, however, some areas where third-party apps can add valuable layers onto your Android security picture. Android malware isn't the massive real-world threat it's frequently made out to be, and Google Play Protect and other native Android settings are more than enough to keep most devices safe. Why? Because, like most people who closely study Android, I don't recommend using those types of apps at all. Let's get one thing out of the way right off the bat: If you're looking for recommendations about Android security suites or other malware-scanning software, you've come to the wrong place.

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