Android 12 no longer requires access to your location to enable Bluetooth

With the release of Android 6, new Bluetooth features have spread rapidly in users’ homes. Special applications are required to scan the environment for devices to connect. request permission to collect location data. While the connection seems a bit vague today, it made perfect sense at the time: Most Bluetooth devices we were insideand such data facilitated the detection of objects that the smartphone already knew.

But things have changed a lot since then. Many Bluetooth devices are now leaving their owner’s home and requesting such permission is more confusion than anything. Users ask why I would give my exact location to an app that only works to pair with my headphones. The problem is very real for developers too; delete negative comments Percentage of people who refuse to reveal their location to use their headphones.

Android 12 will display a Bluetooth-specific popup

Fortunately, this problem will no longer occur in Android 12. Already last year Google had allowed tracking apps including: Those with TousAntiCovid typeto scan surrounding Bluetooth devices without requesting location permissions. The next update will expand this feature to all apps and add a small change that promises much more clarity.

Apps will no longer request access to GPS data but also display a popup Dedicated to scanning Bluetooth devices. On it we can read: “Allow the app to find, connect and determine the relative location of surrounding devices? “. In other words, applications that use Bluetooth, upon its own request.

This new feature is part of Google’s desire to be more transparent about the collection of personal data. Following the dashboard that shows exactly how this information is used by applications, the company is taking another step in this direction. privacy protection. However, the change will not occur during the distribution of Android 12; Each of the applications needs to be updated to integrate the new functionality.