Warning to millions of Android phone owners – beware of small dots on the screen

IF THIS ominous dot appears on your Android screen, you could be being watched.

A feature added to phones by developers at Google alerts users when apps access your camera or microphone.

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The feature, which was introduced last year, is very similar to one that currently exists on Apple’s rival iPhone.

A symbol appears in the corner of the phone’s display when the microphone or camera is turned on.

It lights up when, for example, you open the camera app or record a voice message on WhatsApp.

But its main purpose is to protect you from unreliable apps that record you without your knowledge.

The Android 12 software update released in October 2021 introduced the Google feature to phones around the world.

The indicator is in the form of an icon in the top right corner of the screen.

When an app tries to access your camera or microphone, you’ll see an icon for each.

It prohibits apps from listening to you or viewing you through your camera without your knowledge.

For added security, users can view a history of which apps have used your camera, microphone, or location.

Users can also check and see when these features were enabled, if they were.

The new privacy dashboard in Settings has this information.

In your Quick Settings you can also: fully turn off your microphone and camera.

It’s important to remember that just because you see an icon doesn’t mean there’s something wrong.

For example, Instagram is one of those apps that uses your camera.

However, if you detect an unusual app with your camera, it could indicate that you are being watched.

According to cyber specialists, numerous apps have been discovered that improperly access the camera on Android phones.

So make sure you are running Android 12 and looking for anything suspicious.

Check the app’s permissions in Settings if you think something is wrong.

There’s also the option to restrict access to certain apps to your microphone or camera.

If you are really concerned, you can completely uninstall the app from your Android device.

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