Access Dots is an android app that alerts users when other applications on the phone use camera or microphone. You can configure the app to show IOS style colored dots on the screen when the microphone or camera is in use. The app is free on the play store right now, but it does have a support option.
IOS has always been the choice for users concerned for their privacy. Apple offers a ton of features to cater to user’s security and data protection. With the new IOS 14, Apple added a new feature that shows dots on the screen whenever an application starts using the microphone or camera. This feature is very useful as it can warn users when they are being recorded or spied upon by fraud applications.
With Android, however, there are no security restrictions, mostly because of the open-source nature of the software. Google does keep an eye out of badly behaving apps and periodically blocks them. We also get better control over application permissions in Android 10. With the new OS, users can now select to permit apps to use the microphone or camera only when the app is in focus.
There is, however, no such feature for older android versions. The good news here is that Android is highly customizable, and if the developers don’t provide you with a feature, there is always an app in play store which does. Access Dots ports this feature over from iPhone users to android phones. The app conveniently supports older android versions up to Nougat (7.0).
How to Get Access Dots:
On a supported device, head over to play store search for Access Dots and install it. You can even use your computer for the purpose too, by following this link. The setup and functionality of this application are pretty simple, as well. It displays a dot in one corner of the screen when some program on the phone is using camera or mic.
With the application running, if you see an orange or green dot on your screen, you can check the running apps and identify the culprit in them. Access Dots eve works on the lock screen of your device. Access Dots is free to use, but you can also choose to donate the developers for some extra features.
With the paid app, you get the ability to change dot size as well as the location on the screen. It is an extremely light app and does not consume many system resources. The functionality is also simple, and it works as described. One useful feature to add in the future updates can be the ability to name which app is using specific permission.
This will make blocking and identification of malicious applications less tedious. Users can keep comments on the app page on the play store or contact them via email to ask for this feature. Till then, it is still a handy tool for android users.