Android: Google will better protect users against unused applications

A new update accompanied by an email from Google reveals that its Play Protect program will now automatically remove unused permissions from Android apps you haven’t used in a while.

If you’re using a phone running Android 11 or later, you’ve probably already received a system notification that you have apps that you haven’t used in a while, and because of that, Android will automatically revoke their permissions.

Google had introduced this very useful feature with Android 11 to ensure that only the apps you use have access to your personal data. Apple had adopted a similar approach in iOS 13. The problem is that older smartphones that have not received the Android 11 update did not have this feature, which nevertheless improves user safety against applications that continue to use users’ personal data. This will soon change, as Google has announced that it will come to devices running Android 6.0 and above.

Read also : Android – Google Play Protect antivirus is a sieve, it lets through 70% of spyware

Google will improve the security of older Android smartphones

Last fall, Google announced that automatic removal of app permissions would arrive in December 2021 on older Android smartphones, but this was finally postponed to early 2022. As promised , so Google finally started rolling it out in early April. on devices running Android 6.0 and above via Google Play Protect.

If you have a device eligible for this new feature, i.e. a device running Android 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10you should see the new option ” Permissions for unused apps in Play Protect settings when the feature becomes available. For this, you will have to go to the Google Play Store and then click on your profile picture at the top right. Next, select the “Play Protect” option. At the bottom of the page, the new option should appear soon.

Source: Android Authority