Android 17 will make it easier to stop apps from quietly tracking your location in the background

Google says Android 17 will tighten privacy by limiting precise location access to when an app is in use, adding a visible location-use indicator, and offering a contact picker for sharing only selected contacts and fields.

The update aims to reduce background tracking and give users more granular control over what personal data apps can access.

Google is also expanding theft protections with stronger default-on safeguards, tougher lockout rules, biometric protection for Mark as Lost, and IMEI access from the lock screen.

These changes should make stolen Android phones harder to access, disable, or resell, while improving recovery options.