How to change your privacy settings on your Android devices

Android phones have a lot of perks: some of them come with amazing cameras, built-in and pre-loaded Google apps, and much more. But these smartphones are also at risk from potential threats like hackers or malware. You’ll need to check your apps, stop sites from tracking you, and more.

Be sure to follow our steps to change your Android privacy settings today.

Settings may vary depending on the manufacturer of your Android phone

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Change your privacy settings on Android

Permission manager

Apps collect all kinds of data from their users, and sometimes they don’t even realize what you’ve given them permission to see. You should review each app and the permissions you’ve granted – so apps that don’t need your location can’t access it.

1. Open settings
2. Faucet Privacy
3. Faucet Permission manager
4. Click on each app one by one, and select what should be “allowed” for each app.

Encrypt your Android phone

If you have an Android device prior to 2015, it may not have been encrypted already. This means that your data can be hacked, and you will need to turn this setting on manually.

1. Open settings
2. Faucet protection
3. Faucet advanced
4. Faucet Encryption and credentials
5. If your phone isn’t already, you’ll see the option to tap Phone encryption (this may take some time)

If you don’t see this option, your phone is likely to be newer and already encrypted.

Safe Browsing Protection in Google Chrome

While Google Chrome comes preloaded on many Android devices, it has its own security risks. Google Chrome has its own privacy settings that you can tweak, and some experts recommend against using Chrome at all for safety reasons. But it’s an easy-to-use and powerful browser, so using Safe Browsing protection could be a great alternative to deleting it.

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Safe Browsing helps monitor websites as you browse the Internet, and can help determine if you encounter an unsafe website, link, or ad. You might get a warning like this telling you that the website you tried to access is not secure:

1. open the Google Chrome app on your Android device
2. Faucet more by the three points
3. Faucet settings
4. Faucet Privacy and security
5. Faucet Safe Browsing
6. Next, you can choose which level of Safe Browsing you want to use: Enhanced protection, Standard protection (we recommend this level, so you can choose whether or not to send Google information), or No protection

An iPhone emergency service helps rescue a pair after they collapse in the Southern California woods

Turn on Do Not Track

Android phones allow you to send a request to the websites you browse asking them not to track you while using Google Chrome. It is important to note that asking them not to request or track your data does not guarantee this, as the website may still choose to track your information. However, it is better than not asking for it, as some sites will honor this request.

1. open the Google Chrome app on your Android device
2. Faucet more by the three points
3. Faucet settings
4. Faucet Privacy and security
5. Faucet dont follow
6. Turn on the setting to request that sites not track you

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