Privacy in Android 11

Android 11 builds upon earlier versions of Android, adding features and updates to keep users secure and increase transparency and control. All developers should review the privacy features and test their apps. Impacts can vary based on each app's core functionality, targeting, and other factors.

To learn more about the key changes that take effect in Android 11, look through the following sections.

Top privacy changes

This table summarizes the key changes related to privacy that are taking effect in Android 11.

Privacy change	Apps affected	Mitigation strategy
Scoped storage enforcement Apps that target Android 11 or higher are always subject to scoped storage behaviors	Apps that target Android 11 or higher, as well as apps that target Android 10 and haven't set `requestLegacyExternalStorage` to `true` to opt out of scoped storage	Update your app to work with scoped storage Learn more about the scoped storage changes
One-time permissions Users can grant temporary access to location, microphone, and camera using one-time permissions	Apps that run on Android 11 or higher and request location, microphone, or camera permissions	Check that your app has a permission before attempting to access data that's guarded by that permission Follow best practices for requesting permissions
Permissions auto-reset If users haven't interacted with an app for a few months on Android 11 or higher, the system auto-resets the app's sensitive permissions	Apps that target Android 11 or higher and perform most of their work in the background	Ask the user to prevent the system from resetting your app's permissions Learn more about permissions auto-reset
Background location access Android 11 changes how users can grant the background location permission to apps	Apps that target Android 11 or higher and need access to background location	Request foreground (coarse or fine) and background location permissions incrementally in separate calls to the permission request method. When necessary, explain the benefits that users receive for granting that permission Learn more about background location access in Android 11
Package visibility Android 11 changes how apps query and interact with other installed apps on the same device	Apps that target Android 11 or higher and interact with other installed apps on a device	Add the `<queries>` element to your app's manifest Learn more about package visibility
Foreground services Android 11 changes how foreground services can access location, camera, and microphone data	Apps that run on Android 11 or higher and access location, the camera, or the microphone in a foreground service	Declare the `camera` and `microphone` foreground service types for the foreground services that require access to the camera and microphone, respectively. Be aware, however, that foreground services that start while the app is in the background usually cannot access location, camera, or microphone. Learn more about the changes to foreground services

Get started with privacy updates

Review the privacy features: Assess your app. Look for how your app stores files and user data, requests permissions, requests location. In addition, look for ways that your app interacts with other apps, consider performing an audit of the data that your app accesses, and determine whether your app needs to update how it uses foreground services.
Test your app on Android 11: Run your app on Android 11. Use app compatibility tools to evaluate how individual system changes affect your app.
Update your app: Targeting Android 11 if possible, test with users and publish an update.

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