Android users: This tiny dot on your phone is a huge privacy breach

As an Android user, you be wary if you see a small, green icon in the last corner of your device, especially if you don’t have your camera or microphone turned on. Google introduced the function last year to help users know if they’re being watched or listened to by hackers. The feature comes with Android 12.

Privacy proof

This feature is similar to what Apple already has. The icon comes on when you turn on your camera or microphone. So you might see it when you’re sending a voice note on WhatsApp or when you make a video call. It will show up anytime either of these tools are running, whether you activated them or someone who remote access to your phone. The main aim of this feature is to protect you from apps that may be secretly recording you for advertisement purposes among other shady reasons, according to The Sun.

A year prior to Google releasing this feature, an Instagram bug activated the ‘camera on’ notification on iPhones when users were not taking photos as well as when they were, leading people to think the app was spying on them. This prompted the development of this feature to let users know when their camera or mics are in use.

Track activities

Android also offers users the ability to track when and which apps on their devices have accessed sensitive information. This includes the camera and the microphone, but also location, calendar, call logs, contacts, files, and more, according to Yahoo Finance.

Users can find this in the privacy dashboard in the Settings app, which shows a list, and a pie chart of which piece of personal hardware or software is asked for the most.

Sources used:

Yahoo Finance:Android 12: If your phone shows a camera or microphone icon someone may be spying on you

The Sun: Warning for millions of Android phone owners – beware of tiny dot on screen

Samsung: Green Camera & Microphone Icon appearing on my OS 4.0 Galaxy

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