Android 17 Beta 3 gives you better control over your location privacy

Google rolled out a bevy of changes with Android 17 Beta 3. However, one of the most important is designed to improve privacy protection. This better privacy protection starts with the new “location button.”

As Google explains, an “app doesn’t need permanent or background access to a user’s precise location.” To address this, Android 17 Beta 3 introduces the location button. This UI element was created to “provide a well-lit path for responsible one time precise location access.”

Tapping on the button will bring up a pop-up that will allow you to choose if you want to give an app access to your precise location. If you choose to allow, the app will have access to that data only for the duration of the session (once you close the app). This also “eliminates repeated prompts for location dependent features.”

Developers will be able to customize background color, icon color, outline style, size, and shape of the location button. Which means it may not look exactly the same across the apps you use. However, the location icon is non-customizable and the font size is adjusted based on system settings as a way to “ensure security and trust.”

According to Google, this is a feature that industry partners have been asking for. They believe it provides “a simpler, and more private location flow to their users.”