These built-in Android features show all the privacy permissions you’ve granted

It’s not uncommon to install an app on your Android phone and then go through the setup process without thinking much about the details. You simply tap Allow, Enable, or Yes on each pop-up that appears so you can quickly access the app itself. But this habit actually puts your privacy at risk.

During setup, most mobile apps request access to certain features such as your location, microphone, camera, or contacts. While some apps require these permissions to function properly, others may request access to features they don’t necessarily need or to power features you won’t use at all. For example, a shopping app might want to view and edit your calendar, or a PDF reader might want to manage your phone calls. In such cases, quickly going through the app setup process means you’ve essentially granted the app more access to your phone than is actually required.

Don’t worry, though. Android devices are designed to give you full control over your privacy settings anytime, anywhere. The main features that handle this are two built-in dashboards: the Permissions Manager and the Privacy Dashboard.

The Permission Manager is an Android privacy dashboard that you can find by going to Settings > Apps > More (three points) > Authorization Manager Or Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy Controls > Authorization Managerdepending on the model of your phone. True to its name, the Permission Manager allows you to manage all the privacy permissions you’ve already granted before or want to grant now. It includes 15 main permissions – such as camera, body sensors, photos and videos, and SMS – as well as an “Additional” category for other miscellaneous privacy features such as car information and BLE settings. To make the dashboard easier to navigate, permissions are displayed in a neat list, with an overview of how many installed apps have been granted each permission.

If you want to check which specific apps have access to a certain permission, simply tap on that permission and scroll down the list of “Allowed” apps. When you find an Android app permission that should never have been allowed, simply select the app and change its access to Do not allow. You may need to spend some time here, as you’ll want to go through each permission and app. If you’re looking for a quicker way to assess which privacy permissions actually need your attention, you can head to the Privacy Dashboard instead.

Privacy Dashboard is one of the privacy features exclusive to Android phones. It is located under Settings > Privacy Or Settings > Security & Privacy and shows you the privacy permissions you have previously granted. But unlike the Permission Manager, the Privacy Dashboard provides a more detailed breakdown of which permissions were active in the last 24 hours and which apps were using them. This helps you better understand whether the permissions you previously granted were actually necessary for the app’s core functionality.

As soon as you open the Privacy Dashboard, you’ll get a donut chart showing how many apps have accessed each privacy permission (camera, microphone, location, and others) in the last 24 hours. For camera, microphone, and location, the Privacy Dashboard even gives you a timeline of all the apps that have used that specific permission. For example, you might see something like Facebook accessing your location at 7 a.m., Maps at 11:35 a.m., and Camera at 8 p.m. If you noticed an app that accessed permission but didn’t really need it, go to Manage permissions and set it to Do not allow.

Other permissions listed in the Privacy Dashboard, including Calendar, Phone, and Contacts, do not show a detailed usage timeline. But the dashboard still lists apps that have access permission and adds a “Viewed in the past (24 hours or 7 days)” label if they recently used that permission. This way you will know which ones to disable.