Android has come a long way since its introduction and the recent versions after Android Pie seem to have improved a lot when it comes to features and optimizations. Android 11 brought us the ability to selectively manage our app permissions and deny them when not in use. It seems that Google is leading the way in 2021 with the development of Android 12, as a set of leaked screenshots for the new operating system seems to show.

The new OS update appears to introduce privacy indicators, a much-requested feature after users got a sneak peek of them in iOS 14. So what are they and how can you take advantage of them? Let’s find out.

Google has been testing privacy chips for Android for 2 years now. They were first rumored to be introduced in Android 10 and later in Android 11. Thanks to the new screenshots, it looks like these privacy chips are finally making their way to consumers in the form of privacy indicators.

Privacy indicators are status bar icons that are supposed to alert you when an app on your phone is using a smartphone component or sensor in the background. Apps are known to collect voice, location, and image data in the background under the guise of “research” and “targeted advertising.” This is widely considered a violation of privacy, but due to the lack of modern cyber laws and established terms of use, there’s little that can be done about it… until now.