Android

Android privacy and security checklist: permissions, Find Hub, Play Protect and more

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Android gives you a lot of control over privacy and security, but most of it sits in menus people never open. Spend twenty minutes on this checklist and your phone will be much harder to break into, track or lose for good. Menu names vary a little between manufacturers and Android versions, but the settings app's search bar finds most of them.

1. Lock screen

  • Use a PIN of six digits or more, a password or a pattern that is not a simple shape. A short PIN or an L-shaped pattern is easy to guess or watch over your shoulder.
  • Add fingerprint or face unlock for convenience, but remember the PIN is what protects the phone after a restart.
  • Hide sensitive notification content on the lock screen, so message previews are not visible to anyone who picks up your phone.
  • Set the screen to lock quickly after it turns off.

2. App permissions

Open Settings, then Security and privacy (or Privacy), then Permission manager. It lists every permission and which apps hold it.
  • Location: most apps only need "Allow only while using the app". Turn off "Use precise location" for apps that only need a rough area, such as weather.
  • Camera, microphone, contacts, photos: remove access from anything that does not obviously need it.
  • Nearby devices, physical activity, call logs and SMS: review these too.
  • Recent Android versions remove permissions from apps you have not used for months. Leave that setting on.
  • The privacy dashboard shows which apps used location, camera or microphone recently. A green indicator in the corner appears when the camera or microphone is in use.
  • Use the quick-settings tiles to block camera and microphone access entirely when you want certainty.

3. Your Google account

Your phone is only as secure as the Google account behind it.
  • Run the Security Checkup in your Google account settings. It flags weak spots: old devices still signed in, risky third-party access, missing recovery options.
  • Turn on 2-Step Verification, and consider a passkey, which signs you in with your phone's screen lock and cannot be phished like a password.
  • Keep your recovery phone number and email up to date.
  • Run the Privacy Checkup to review what activity is saved (location history, web and app activity, YouTube history) and set auto-delete if you prefer.
  • Use the Password Manager checkup to find reused or leaked passwords.

4. Google Play Protect

Play Protect scans apps on your device, including ones installed from outside the Play Store, and warns about or disables harmful ones. Check it is on in the Play Store (tap your profile picture, then Play Protect). Leave "Scan apps with Play Protect" enabled.

5. Find Hub (formerly Find My Device)

In 2025 Google renamed Find My Device to Find Hub. It lets you locate, ring, lock or erase a lost phone from another device or the web, and it can also find supported tags and accessories.
  • Check it is enabled on your phone (in the Settings search, look for Find Hub or "Allow device to be located").
  • Decide whether to let the phone be found through the wider network of Android devices when it is offline.
  • Practise once: sign in on a computer and make your phone ring, so you know how before you need it.

6. Updates

  • Install system updates and Google Play system updates promptly; they patch security holes. Find them under Settings, then System or Security.
  • Check how long your phone model gets security updates. Once support ends, the phone becomes riskier for banking and payments.
  • Keep apps updated through the Play Store.

7. Sideloading cautions

Installing apps from outside the Play Store (sideloading) is possible on Android, but it is the most common way malware reaches phones.
  • Do not install apps from links in texts, emails or messaging apps, especially ones pretending to be a bank, courier or government service.
  • If you must sideload, use the developer's official site or a reputable store, then turn the "install unknown apps" permission off again for the browser or file manager you used.
  • Google has begun requiring that apps installed on certified Android devices come from verified developers, starting in a few countries in 2026 with a wider rollout planned. If you rely on apps from outside the Play Store, check whether the developer has registered.

8. A few extras

  • Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi scanning if you do not need them.
  • Use a screen-lock-protected private space or secure folder, if your phone offers one, for sensitive apps.
  • Set up a SIM PIN to stop someone moving your SIM to another phone.
Which of these settings surprised you, or what does your phone call them? Share tips and questions in the comments.

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