Android green dot: What it is and why it could be a problem?

Android is known to bring in some handy customisation features with newer versions of the operating system. However, with every newer Android version, you also get to see new privacy and safety features, aimed at keeping Android smartphones safe from threats online and offline. One such feature is the notorious ‘green dot’ you can often find on the top-right corner of Android screens.

This dot is actually the privacy indicator feature, first introduced with Android 12. It will light up when you’re on a call, a video conference, or even when you’re clicking some pictures. But if you see the green dot turn on all the time on your phone, you may be in danger. Here’s why.

What is the Android green dot?

Think of the green privacy indicator as a software-based LED indicator embedded near the top-right corner of your phone’s screen. Whenever the system sees that any app is accessing either your smartphone’s microphone or camera, this indicator is designed to light up, and let you know that your microphone or camera is in use. Note that the indicator is designed to light up for system apps and installed apps when they access the microphone or camera.

If your device sports multiple cameras or microphones, the indicator should light up when any of these elements are accessed, as it is not restricted to just your primary microphone or your rear camera.

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The feature is also only available on devices running Android 12 or later. So, if you don’t see such an indicator when using the camera or taking a call, you may be running an older version of Android. That said, if your smartphone has an Android 12 update available, the feature should work.

When is it okay to see the green dot on an Android phone?

The green privacy indicator will light up whenever an app accesses the microphone or camera. This means it should light up when you’re doing things like taking a photo or video, making or taking a phone call, engaged in a video conference, or sending a voice note.

Note that it is okay for the indicator to pop up even during non-primary uses of your camera and microphone. Some examples include interacting with Google Assistant or scanning a QR code.

When is it not okay to see the green dot on Android phone?

You should be concerned if you see the green dot show up when it’s not supposed to. If you see the green privacy indicator show up all the time, even when you aren’t particularly using any app, it means some application has continuous access to your microphone, camera, or both. This is likely to be a malicious app which could be spying on you via your phone’s camera and microphone. Note that there could even be multiple such applications at once on your device.

Even if the green dot shows up only when you open specific apps, assess whether the app actually needs to have access to your camera and microphone. If not, you may be dealing with a problematic app that could be malicious in nature.

How to fix this

Thankfully, the privacy indicator also has the ability to let you know exactly which app has been using your camera and microphone. Simply tap on the green dot when it shows up to see which app has been triggering it. If there’s no response to a tap, open your notification panel all the way till you see the quick settings, and you should see an expanded version of the indicator in the status bar (also green) that you can now tap on to see which app is triggering it.

Once you find out which app has been causing the problem, you can either check and modify its permissions, or if you suspect the app to be malicious, simply uninstall it and report it on the Google Play Store.

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To check on the permissions of an app go to Settings> Apps> See all apps, and find the app you’re looking for. Tap on the app to open the app page, and scroll down till you see the ‘Permissions’ section. Open it and you should see allowed and denied permissions in one spot. You can modify these as per your needs.

Universal control over camera and microphone

Android 12 and later versions also allow you to cut off access to both the microphone and the camera for all apps. This is great for when you want total privacy and want no app or service to access your camera/microphone.

To implement this, you should have two dedicated toggles in the quick settings panel named Mic Access and Camera Access. Open your notification panel completely by swiping down from the status bar, and look for both toggles here. If you cannot see one or both toggles, look for a button that says something like ‘Add’ or ‘More’ to access hidden toggles. You may also see an edit button/icon to add more toggles. Once added, you can use these toggles to block access to your camera and microphone for all apps.

Remember, if you continue seeing the green dot even after you’ve checked for permissions and uninstalled any malicious apps, you can always factory reset your smartphone, or take it to your nearest service centre to let the professionals have a look at the matter.

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