Google has announced a whole bunch of features for Android 12, the most important of which are new features focused on privacy. Perhaps inspired by Apple's new stance in iOS 14.5, Android 12 will include several new features centered around giving apps some control over what they can and cannot do.

There is no app tracking management yet, and I don't think we'll see that feature on Android phones (at least those running Google Play Services). Still, Android 12 is a step in the right direction. There is a new privacy dashboard, with an easy-to-read timeline of which apps have accessed which permissions.

Android 12 introduces new indicators for when apps are using the microphone and camera, and thanks to two new buttons in Quick Settings, you can temporarily revoke these permissions for all apps if necessary.

In addition, Google highlighted the private compute core of the OS. Think Smart Reply. Everything (within reason) stays on your phone.

Android 12 is not only aesthetically pleasing with its new interface changes, but also a big step in the right direction for privacy.