Android 12 will strengthen privacy by making it easier to lock the camera and microphone

Android 12 will arrive with dedicated buttons in the control center to completely enable or disable the camera and microphone.

The beta version of Android 12 is already in the hands of the developers and the news does not stop appearing. According to 9to5Google, this operating system will come with switches integrated in the quick settings panel to completely enable or disable the cameras and microphones of the terminal.

This feature is not available to all Android 12 preview users. However, the team of the aforementioned American medium has managed to test it. In addition, he has shared a series of screenshots.

This is how the new privacy feature in Android 12 works

Quick settings are an old acquaintance of Google's mobile operating system. From there it is possible to activate or deactivate Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and even the vibration of the device. It is only necessary to press the appropriate switch. Now, in Android 12 you can enable or disable the cameras and microphones of the phone.

As can be seen from the images, the captions "lock camera" and "mute microphone" appear under the switch. Touching them completely interrupts the operation of the sensors. This, in theory, since according to 9to5Google, the function would not work very well in some applications.

For example, when trying to open the camera on Twitter, with the switch off, Android 12 displays a message requesting to turn on the camera. The most curious thing about this is that in the test the sensor was working in the background. The problem persisted even after restarting the phone.

Android 12 is in a still early stage, so it is to be expected that it contains some bugs or that its functions are not fully available. In the coming weeks, versions will be released that will provide more stability and new features.

Google has previously experimented with similar privacy features. Since Android 10, a hidden function in developer mode allows you to activate or deactivate the sensors from the quick settings panel. The novelty of this new function is that it would be activated for all users and will allow choosing specifically which sensor to deactivate.

The release of the Android 12 preview comes precisely when the world is most privacy-conscious. Along these lines, it makes sense for Google to make changes to its mobile operating system so that users feel a little more secure.