Now that Google Pixel 6 is available, Android 12 is available for select Pixel series models. According to their OEMs, more and more devices are expected to start receiving the same in the coming months. Early beta testers enjoyed the new Android 12 developer preview or public beta as well as AOSP GSI. We know a lot about Android 12, but some did notice it offers microphone and camera access via a single toggle button on the device.
Therefore, it appears to be possible to enable or disable camera and microphone access for all apps on the device with a single toggle. On Android 12, users can access the toggle by swiping down the notification shade or panel from quick settings. Alternatively, they can also access it from the device system settings menu -> privacy screen.
Also worth noting is that Android 12 and higher devices will display microphone and camera usage indicators on the top of the screen (status bar) when an application utilizes either of them or both. That way, you can easily find out which application and at what time your camera or microphone was used. In that case, you can turn off camera and microphone access for specific apps that don’t need those permissions at all for your usage.
