Google Play Protect is set to automatically remove unused app permissions

Phew! The battle is over. Google’s Play Protect program will now automatically remove unused permissions from Android applications that you haven’t used in a while, according to a new update accompanied by an email.

To get the full experience, you had to go into each app’s permissions and turn off the camera, microphone, storage, contacts, and phone that the developer could access on your device.

This new automation is now compatible with Android versions 10 and below. It used to be limited to Android 11, but it’s now available for older devices as well, which is a welcome change! You can not only choose which apps retain permission access and are not deleted by Play Protect, but you can also be notified when a reset occurs.

Developers can also protect their app from Play Protect. Any developer who does this will be excluded from the auto permission reset feature, and the permissions you granted it upon installation will remain active even if you don’t access it for an extended period of time.

Some apps require constant access to items because their primary function is to operate in the background rather than being opened and explored, so I’m glad this option exists, but I hope it’s not abused.

Go to the Google Play Store and press your profile image in the top right corner to see which apps and games have which permissions enabled, and possibly clear them up because not all of them are required or necessary. Then, in the “Removing permissions for unused apps” section, tap “Play Protect” and then “Removing permissions for unused apps.”