Android 11 has a clever trick to deal with unused apps

We previously reported about Android 11’s ability to grant temporary one-time permissions to apps. Building on that feature, the latest developer preview brings yet another option to revoke app permissions for unused apps.

You might have many redundant apps on your phone that you downloaded enthusiastically at one point and later forgot about completely. If so, the new “Auto revoke permissions” feature in Android 11 is meant for you.

First spotted by XDA’s Mishaal Rahman and reported by Android Police, the new setting automatically revokes permissions for camera, files, contacts, location, etc, for apps that you haven’t used in a while.

The option is available within the “App Permissions” section for each app. You can access it by long-pressing the app icon in the recents menu and then heading to App info > Permissions. Alternatively, you can go to Settings > Apps & notifications > the app you want tweak >Permissions.

Enabling the option will automatically cancel all permissions for the app if you haven’t used it for “a few months.” You can see the new option and its description in the screenshot below.

Looking for other cool features headed to Android 11? Check out this list of the most notable new Android 11 features we’ve found so far. Have a new Android 11 feature to report? Tip us and we’ll make sure to cover it on the website.