For example, Android Q will be smarter with your app permissions

Do you have no idea by now which app can actually do something on your smartphone? Android Q is likely to introduce an improved overview of all your app permissions.

Android Q app permissions are on the shovel: that’s how it works

If you install a new Android app and open it for the first time, you will usually get all kinds of windows in the picture asking for permissions. Before you can use the app anyway, it often requires quick access to your location, your storage or your camera. Many users accept this automatically so they can get started with the app, so you soon have countless apps on your device that actually have far too many permissions. Retrofitting permissions afterward is also a relatively complex matter.

With Android Q, the permissions system is, therefore, changing, as XDA-Developers has discovered. The site says it has obtained some images of the following Android version. Although the first preliminary version of Android Q will probably only appear in a few months, the software is already under development.

The new version of Android Q gives users more control over how and when which part of their smartphone is used by which app. For example, you can later set an app to only be able to request your location if this app is open. Many apps from social networks and stores for example still keep track of your location to offer more targeted ads, but from Android Q you may be able to turn it off.

The permissions menu from Android Q will also become a lot clearer, according to the screenshots. You can check an overview of which app permissions are most requested by your apps, or specifically search for which apps all want access to, for example, your contacts. Now you have to go one-by-one specific apps to check app permissions.

Screenshots dark mode Android Q leaked

The screenshots also show a system-wide dark mode for Android. Users can set it to always be on or only on from a certain time. With this dark mode, all menus have a black background, from the settings to the app list on the home screen. Even with some apps that do not normally have a dark mode, Android seems to force them: apps like Facebook suddenly get a black background too.

It is, however, still the question whether these features reach the finish line. In the past, new features were leaked more often that did not end up in Android updates. The first preliminary version of Android Q is likely to be presented in March or April; then we know what improvements Google has actually planned.