Android 16 adds new way to see when apps are using your location

18 Dec 2025, 17:07 by Karandeep Singh Oberoi · Android Police

If you're an Android user, you most definitely are familiar with the 'green dot' indicator Google introduced all the way back in 2021.

With Android 12, Google introduced status bar indicators that essentially serve as alerts for whenever an app accesses your camera or microphone. The privacy-focused UI element is a simple yet effective way to maintain transparency, and it is now expanding to another critical phone function that warrants transparency.

Android 12's long-awaited privacy features are official — though a few won't land until Beta 2

Privacy Dashboard, mic and camera indicators, permissions tweaks, and more

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Google's latest Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1 shows that in addition to your device's microphone and/or camera, the status bar alert will also expand to apps accessing your location. The development was first highlighted by the folks over at 9to5Google.

The indicator functions the same way as the existing ones, albeit with one clear change: it's blue instead of green when appearing all by itself (when an app is only using your device's location and not its camera or mic). If and when it does appear alongside the mic or camera indicator, it merges into the green chip, as seen in the second screenshot below.

Elsewhere, the dashboard that highlights which apps have recently used your mic and camera has now been renamed to "Microphone, Camera & Location." The dashboard highlights all three categories, complete with options to close apps using your location or manage access.

Try it out now in beta

Google kicks off Android 16 QPR3 testing with Beta 1

The stable build lands in March 2026

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The change is now live with the latest Android 16 QPR3 beta and should make its way to users in stable around March 2026. Another neat upgrade that's expected to make its way to stable in March is Android's scrolling screenshot quirk fix.

As of right now, when you capture a scrolling screenshot, Android saves both, a standard screenshot and a scrolling one. This normally results in a cluttered gallery, especially if you don't perform digital housekeeping often enough. Google wants to change this behavior, and it could do so with the stable Android 16 QPR3 release in March. Read more about the change here.

Android is finally fixing one of the most annoying scrolling screenshot quirks

The quality-of-life upgrade your gallery needs

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By Karandeep Singh Oberoi