With Android 11 Developer Preview 3, Google has added a new toggle for app permissions named “Auto revoke permissions”. As the name hints, the feature will automatically remove permissions if an app is “not used for a few months” and it is disabled by default.
As spotted by Android Police (via XDA Editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman), the feature resides in the App Permissions section that can be accessed from Settings -> Apps and notifications -> Name of the app -> App Permissions or by accessing App Info from the recent apps and heading into Permissions.
It is worth noting that the feature doesn’t revoke all the permissions granted to an app. There are certain “auto revocable permissions” that respect this toggle and it varies based on the app.
For now, we can’t be sure if this feature works as intended since it apparently takes a few months to function. Also, Google has not explicitly mentioned the number of months it will take for the feature to kick in.
Given this is a neat addition that helps prevent potential data leakages since people usually tend not to uninstall apps they no longer use for months, we should be seeing it live in the next beta release or the following one.
However, an option to set a custom time-frame would be much appreciated. Android Police notes that the list of revocable permissions change when checked at different time intervals, which could be because the feature is at its early stages and it explains why Google has hidden it by default on this release.