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Get my free Dashboard →Android privacy settings: a practical guide
Android collects and shares a significant amount of data by default. This checklist walks through the most important privacy settings to review and what each one means for your security and personal data.
Location settings
Location is one of the most sensitive permissions on your phone. Work through these settings:
- Settings > Location: review which apps have "Allow all the time" location access; change to "Only while using" for most apps
- Disable location for apps that have no reason to know where you are
- Settings > Location > Google Location History: review and disable if you prefer not to have your location history stored
- Settings > Location > Location Services: review Bluetooth scanning and Wi-Fi scanning, which allow location tracking even when GPS is off
Camera and microphone access
These permissions are high risk: only apps that genuinely need them should have access:
- Settings > Privacy > Permission Manager > Camera: revoke for any app that does not need a camera
- Settings > Privacy > Permission Manager > Microphone: revoke for any app that does not record audio
- Android 12 and later shows orange and green dots at the top of the screen when camera or microphone are in use
- If you see the indicator when an app should not be recording, revoke its permissions immediately
Notifications and lock screen
What appears on your lock screen can expose sensitive information to anyone nearby:
- Settings > Notifications > Notifications on lock screen: set to "Hide sensitive content" or "Don't show notifications at all"
- Review notification content per app: banking, email, and messaging apps should not show full message content on the lock screen
- Turn off notification access for apps that do not need to read your notifications: Settings > Privacy > Notification access
Google and advertising settings
Android includes several Google data-sharing settings that are enabled by default:
- myaccount.google.com > Data & privacy: review and manage what Google stores about you
- Settings > Privacy > Ads > Delete advertising ID: this limits targeted advertising across apps
- Settings > Google > Google Account > Data & privacy > My Activity: review and delete activity if desired
- Settings > Privacy > Usage & diagnostics: disable if you do not want usage data sent to Google or your manufacturer
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