Beta 2 is rolling out to Pixel smartphones today, after the visually revamped Android 12 operating system became more widely available last month. This is the first of two incremental Beta-quality releases as the next version of Android approaches general availability.
Developers have been instructed to continue compatibility testing and begin early testing by targeting Android 12 while following feedback from those in the Android Beta. At its I/O event in April, Google said that Beta 2 will introduce many of Android 12’s core privacy features, starting with a dashboard in Settings that provides a 24-hour timeline of which apps are accessing the microphone, camera or location.
Users can also request details about why an application is accessing sensitive data, and developers can provide this information in an activity with a new system intent, ACTION_VIEW_PERMISSION_USAGE_FOR_PERIOD. We recommend that apps leverage this intent to proactively help users understand accesses in a given time frame.
Android 12 also shows a message at the bottom of the screen (now shows the source via an app icon) every time an app accesses/reads the clipboard, except if the clipboard is copied from the same app.
Meanwhile, microphone and camera indicators will appear in the upper right corner of your screen when apps gain access to these two sensors. New toggles from Quick Settings allow you to quickly disable app access to microphone and/or camera.
