Google recently unveiled the first developer preview of Android 16. This gave us a good look at some new features, including a revamped Privacy dashboard, found under Settings > Security & privacy.
It displays up to 7 days of permissions activity while keeping the 24-hour view. Interestingly, Google isn’t making users wait for Android 16 to get this update. Pixel owners are seeing this change with the latest Google Play system update.
The team at 9to5Google initially spotted this update later corroborated by Android Police using a Pixel 6a running Android 15 QPR1. The update is included in the November 2024 Google Play system update. Pixel users can check for this update by going to Settings > Security & privacy > System & updates.
Users can easily toggle between the 24-hour and 7-day views in the Privacy dashboard. A three-dot menu at the top allows for this switch. The familiar pie chart remains, but a detailed timeline is available. Simply tap Location, Camera, or Microphone to see it.
This addition to Android’s Privacy dashboard lets users monitor app permissions over a longer timeframe. A “Manage permission” button at the bottom of the timeline view allows users to revoke access for any app that shouldn’t have access to the device’s location, camera, or microphone.
Google has noticeably sped up its Android development process. The first developer preview of Android 16 arrived recently, shortly after the stable release of Android 15. This is a significant acceleration, considering the first Android 15 developer preview was released only in mid-February this year.
This faster pace is welcome news and we expect to learn more about Android 16 in the coming weeks. The first betas for Android 16 are anticipated to arrive next month.
