Phew! The struggle is over. A new update accompanied by an email from Google reveals that its Play Protect program will now automatically remove unused permissions from Android applications that you haven’t used in a while. 

Previously, you’d have to go into each app’s permissions and individually turn off the camera, microphone, storage, contacts, and phone that the developer could access on your device to get the full experience they intended.

This updated automation is now compatible with Android versions 10 and lower. It used to only function on Android 11, but it’s now available for earlier devices as well, which is a good development! Not only can you choose which apps keep their permission access and aren’t deleted by Play Protect, but you can also be notified when a reset occurs.

Developers can also choose to shield their app from Play Protect. Any developer who does this will be excluded from the auto permission reset feature, and the permissions you gave it upon installation will remain active even if you don’t access it for a long time. 

Some apps require constant access to items because their primary role is to operate in the background rather than being opened and explored, thus I’m glad this option exists, but I just hope it isn’t misused.

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