It was reported just last week that Google is all set to announce its next version of the Android operating system, Android M. While the Google I/O conference to be held in San Francisco is still a few days away, Bloomberg reports that the new operating system will bring better privacy settings. According to the report, Google’s Android operating system will give users more detailed choices over what apps can access and what they can’t.
If the reports are to be believed, users will be able to decide whether they want to share their photos, location, contact details, call logs, calendar details, call details, etc with apps during installation. Currently, users are just prompted with a list of permissions an app needs at the time of installation and the only way to deny those permissions is to not install the app at all.
Custom Android UIs like MIUI, Amigo UI and Cyanogenmod already offer such privacy features but are limited to a few phones. Complete operating systems like Cyanogenmod even provide encryption of the phone itself so that installed apps don't affect your privacy. On the other hand, custom UIs like Amigo UI prompt you if you want to share your data in every app you open.
Lately, the demand for privacy in Android has intensified and Google seems to be listening since in Lollipop (Android 5.0) itself, the company introduced phone encryption settings. If the Bloomberg report holds true, Android may become more secure and privacy conscious in less than a year.
Source: Bloomberg