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	"created_at": "2026-04-06T01:30:57.180314Z",
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	"title": "Privacy changes in Android 10",
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	"plain_text": "Privacy changes in Android 10\r\nArchived: 2026-04-06 00:25:28 UTC\r\nAndroid 10 (API level 29) introduces a number of features and behavior changes to better protect users' privacy.\r\nThese changes extend the transparency and control that users have over their data and the capabilities they give to\r\napps. These features might mean that specific behaviors or data that your app is depending on may behave\r\ndifferently compared to older versions of the platform. The impacts on your app should be minimal if your app is\r\nfollowing current best practices for handling user data.\r\nThis page lists a summary of each change.\r\nTop changes\r\nThis section includes the key changes in Android 10 related to privacy.\r\nExternal storage access scoped to app files and media\r\nBy default, apps targeting Android 10 and higher are given scoped access into external storage, or scoped storage.\r\nSuch apps can see the following types of files within an external storage device without needing to request any\r\nstorage-related user permissions:\r\nFiles in the app-specific directory, accessed using getExternalFilesDir() .\r\nPhotos, videos, and audio clips that the app created from the media store.\r\nTo learn more about scoped storage, as well as how to share, access, and modify files that are saved on external\r\nstorage devices, see the guides on how to manage files in external storage and access and modify media files.\r\nAccess to device location in the background requires permission\r\nTo support the additional control that users have over an app's access to location information, Android 10\r\nintroduces the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission.\r\nUnlike the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION and ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permissions, the\r\nACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission only affects an app's access to location when it runs in the background.\r\nAn app is considered to be accessing location in the background unless one of the following conditions is\r\nsatisfied:\r\nAn activity belonging to the app is visible.\r\nThe app is running a foreground service that has declared a foreground service type of location .\r\nTo declare the foreground service type for a service in your app, set your app's targetSdkVersion or\r\ncompileSdkVersion to 29 or higher. Learn more about how foreground services can continue user-initiated actions that require access to location.\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 1 of 8\n\nIf your app creates and monitors geofences and targets Android 10 (API level 29) or higher, you must declare the\r\nACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission.\r\nAccess granted automatically when targeting Android 9 or lower\r\nIf your app runs on Android 10 or higher but targets Android 9 (API level 28) or lower, the platform applies the\r\nfollowing behavior:\r\nIf your app declares a \u003cuses-permission\u003e element for either ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or\r\nACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION , the system automatically adds a \u003cuses-permission\u003e element for\r\nACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION during installation.\r\nIf your app requests either ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION , the system\r\nautomatically adds ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION to the request.\r\nAccess when device is upgraded to Android 10\r\nIf a user grants your app access to device location – either ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION or ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION\r\n– then upgrades their device from Android 9 to Android 10, the system automatically updates the set of location-based permissions granted to your app. The set of permissions that your app receives after the upgrade depends on\r\nits target SDK version and its defined permissions, as shown in the following table:\r\nTable 1. Changes in location permission state after device upgrade to Android 10\r\nTarget platform\r\nversion\r\nCoarse or fine\r\npermission\r\ngranted?\r\nBackground permission\r\ndefined in manifest?\r\nUpdated default\r\npermission state\r\nAndroid 10 Yes Yes\r\nForeground and\r\nbackground access\r\nAndroid 10 Yes No Foreground access only\r\nAndroid 10 No (Ignored by system) No access\r\nAndroid 9 or\r\nlower\r\nYes\r\nAutomatically added by the system at\r\ndevice upgrade time\r\nForeground and\r\nbackground access\r\nAndroid 9 or\r\nlower\r\nNo (Ignored by system) No access\r\nNote that the user can change this level of access even after the system automatically updates your app's access to\r\ndevice location. For example, the user might reduce your app's access to foreground only or revoke access\r\nentirely. Before attempting to access the device's location, particularly within a foreground service, your app\r\nshould check whether the user still allows your app to receive this location information.\r\nAccess revoked when updating target API level on Android 10 devices\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 2 of 8\n\nConsider the case where your app is already installed on a device that runs Android 10. If you update your app to\r\ntarget Android 10 in this situation, the device revokes the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission.\r\nFor more information on how to retrieve the device's location while your app is in the background, see the guide\r\non receiving periodic location updates.\r\nRestrictions on starting activities from the background\r\nStarting in Android 10, the system places restrictions on starting activities from the background. This behavior\r\nchange helps minimize interruptions for the user and keeps the user more in control of what's shown on their\r\nscreen. As long as your app starts activities as a direct result of user interaction, your app most likely isn't affected\r\nby these restrictions.\r\nTo learn more about the recommended alternative to starting activities from the background, see the guide on how\r\nto alert users of time-sensitive events in your app.\r\nIdentifiers and data\r\nThis section lists changes specific to working with device identifiers and data.\r\nRemoval of contacts affinity\r\nStarting in Android 10, the platform doesn't keep track of contacts affinity information. As a result, if your app\r\nconducts a search on the user's contacts, the results aren't ordered by frequency of interaction.\r\nThe guide about ContactsProvider contains a notice describing the specific fields and methods that are obsolete\r\non all devices starting in Android 10.\r\nMAC address randomization\r\nOn devices that run Android 10 or higher, the system transmits randomized MAC addresses by default.\r\nIf your app handles an enterprise use case, the platform provides APIs for several operations related to MAC\r\naddresses:\r\nObtain randomized MAC address: Device owner apps and profile owner apps can retrieve the\r\nrandomized MAC address assigned to a specific network by calling getRandomizedMacAddress() .\r\nObtain actual, factory MAC address: Device owner apps can retrieve a device's actual hardware MAC\r\naddress by calling getWifiMacAddress() . This method is useful for tracking fleets of devices.\r\nRestriction on access to /proc/net filesystem\r\nOn devices that run Android 10 or higher, apps cannot access /proc/net , which includes information about a\r\ndevice's network state. Apps that need access to this information, such as VPNs, should use the\r\nNetworkStatsManager or ConnectivityManager class.\r\nRestriction on non-resettable device identifiers\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 3 of 8\n\nStarting in Android 10, apps must have the READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE privileged permission in order to\r\naccess the device's non-resettable identifiers, which include both IMEI and serial number.\r\nAffected methods include the following:\r\nBuild\r\ngetSerial()\r\nTelephonyManager\r\ngetImei()\r\ngetDeviceId()\r\ngetMeid()\r\ngetSimSerialNumber()\r\ngetSubscriberId()\r\nIf your app doesn't have the permission and you try asking for information about non-resettable identifiers\r\nanyway, the platform's response varies based on target SDK version:\r\nIf your app targets Android 10 or higher, a SecurityException occurs.\r\nIf your app targets Android 9 (API level 28) or lower, the method returns null or placeholder data if the\r\napp has the READ_PHONE_STATE permission. Otherwise, a SecurityException occurs.\r\nMany use cases don't need non-resettable device identifiers. For example, if your app uses non-resettable device\r\nidentifiers for ad-tracking or user analytics purposes, use an Android Advertising ID for those specific use cases\r\ninstead. To learn more, see best practices for unique identifiers.\r\nLimited access to clipboard data\r\nUnless your app is the default input method editor (IME) or is the app that currently has focus, your app cannot\r\naccess clipboard data on Android 10 or higher.\r\nProtection of USB device serial number\r\nIf your app targets Android 10 or higher, your app cannot read the serial number until the user has granted your\r\napp permission to access the USB device or accessory.\r\nTo learn more about working with USB devices, see the guide on how to configure USB hosts.\r\nCamera and connectivity\r\nThis section lists changes specific to camera metadata and connectivity APIs.\r\nRestriction on access to camera details and metadata\r\nAndroid 10 changes the breadth of information that the getCameraCharacteristics() method returns by default.\r\nIn particular, your app must have the CAMERA permission in order to access potentially device-specific metadata\r\nthat is included in this method's return value.\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 4 of 8\n\nTo learn more about these changes, see the section about camera fields that require permission.\r\nRestriction on enabling and disabling Wi-Fi\r\nApps targeting Android 10 or higher cannot enable or disable Wi-Fi. The WifiManager.setWifiEnabled()\r\nmethod always returns false .\r\nIf you need to prompt users to enable and disable Wi-Fi, use a settings panel.\r\nRestrictions on direct access to configured Wi-Fi networks\r\nTo protect user privacy, manual configuration of the list of Wi-Fi networks is restricted to system apps and device\r\npolicy controllers (DPCs). A given DPC can be either the device owner or the profile owner.\r\nIf your app targets Android 10 or higher, and it isn't a system app or a DPC, then the following methods don't\r\nreturn useful data:\r\nThe getConfiguredNetworks() method always returns an empty list.\r\nEach network operation method that returns an integer value— addNetwork() and updateNetwork() —\r\nalways returns -1.\r\nEach network operation that returns a boolean value— removeNetwork() , reassociate() ,\r\nenableNetwork() , disableNetwork() , reconnect() , and disconnect() —always returns false .\r\nIf your app needs to connect to Wi-Fi networks, use the following alternative methods:\r\nTo trigger an instant local connection to a Wi-Fi network, use WifiNetworkSpecifier in a standard\r\nNetworkRequest object.\r\nTo add Wi-Fi networks for consideration for providing internet access to the user, work with\r\nWifiNetworkSuggestion objects. You can add and remove networks that appear in the auto-connect\r\nnetwork selection dialog by calling addNetworkSuggestions() and removeNetworkSuggestions() ,\r\nrespectively. These methods don't require any location permissions.\r\nSome telephony, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi APIs require FINE location permission\r\nIf your app targets Android 10 or higher, it must have the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission in order to use\r\nseveral methods within the Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Aware, or Bluetooth APIs. The following sections list the affected classes\r\nand methods.\r\nTelephony\r\nTelephonyManager\r\ngetCellLocation()\r\ngetAllCellInfo()\r\nrequestNetworkScan()\r\nrequestCellInfoUpdate()\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 5 of 8\n\ngetAvailableNetworks()\r\ngetServiceState()\r\nTelephonyScanManager\r\nrequestNetworkScan()\r\nTelephonyScanManager.NetworkScanCallback\r\nonResults()\r\nPhoneStateListener\r\nonCellLocationChanged()\r\nonCellInfoChanged()\r\nonServiceStateChanged()\r\nWi-Fi\r\nWifiManager\r\nstartScan()\r\ngetScanResults()\r\ngetConnectionInfo()\r\ngetConfiguredNetworks()\r\nWifiAwareManager\r\nWifiP2pManager\r\nWifiRttManager\r\nBluetooth\r\nBluetoothAdapter\r\nstartDiscovery()\r\nstartLeScan()\r\nBluetoothAdapter.LeScanCallback\r\nBluetoothLeScanner\r\nstartScan()\r\nPermissions\r\nThis section describes updates to the Android permissions model.\r\nRestricted access to screen contents\r\nTo protect users' screen contents, Android 10 prevents silent access to the device's screen contents by changing the\r\nscope of the READ_FRAME_BUFFER , CAPTURE_VIDEO_OUTPUT , and CAPTURE_SECURE_VIDEO_OUTPUT permissions. As\r\nof Android 10, these permissions are signature-access only.\r\nApps that need to access the device's screen contents should use the MediaProjection API, which displays a\r\nprompt asking the user to provide consent.\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 6 of 8\n\nUser-facing permission check on legacy apps\r\nIf your app targets Android 5.1 (API level 22) or lower, users see a permissions screen when using your app on a\r\ndevice that runs Android 10 or higher for the first time, as shown in Figure 1. This screen gives users the\r\nopportunity to revoke access to permissions that the system previously granted to your app at install time.\r\nFigure 1. User-facing dialog that allows review of legacy permissions\r\nPhysical activity recognition\r\nAndroid 10 introduces the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION runtime permission for apps that need to\r\ndetect the user's step count or classify the user's physical activity, such as walking, biking, or moving in a vehicle.\r\nThis is designed to give users visibility of how device sensor data is used in Settings.\r\nSome libraries within Google Play services, such as the Activity Recognition API and the Google Fit API, don't\r\nprovide results unless the user has granted your app this permission.\r\nThe only built-in sensors on the device that require you to declare this permission are the step counter and step\r\ndetector sensors.\r\nIf your app targets Android 9 (API level 28) or lower, the system auto-grants the\r\nandroid.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission to your app, as needed, if your app satisfies each of the\r\nfollowing conditions:\r\nThe manifest file includes the com.google.android.gms.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission.\r\nThe manifest file doesn't include the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission.\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 7 of 8\n\nIf the system-auto grants the android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION permission, your app retains the\r\npermission after you update your app to target Android 10. However, the user can revoke this permission at any\r\ntime in system settings.\r\nPermission groups removed from UI\r\nAs of Android 10, apps cannot look up how permissions are grouped in the UI.\r\nSource: https://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nhttps://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data\r\nPage 8 of 8",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"MITRE"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"changes#clipboard-data"
	],
	"threat_actors": [],
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	"ts_updated_at": 1775791229,
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