A green dot on your Android screen signals that the camera or microphone is active. Learn why it appears and how to stop it from appearing.
Both Android and iOS have matured significantly over the years, offering a hoard of features that once could only be fulfilled through third-party apps or tweaks. Android, specifically, is known for packing more options and toggles than one can realistically get used to — but that’s where the beauty of customization lies with the operating system. However, it can, and definitely does, get messy when everything is dialed to eleven.
The status bar on Android is where you can quickly peek at things like your Wi-Fi or network connectivity strength, location access, and notifications from apps. The numerous symbols and icons on your Android phone screen can become overwhelming when things get cluttered. To make matters even more confusing, you may have noticed a green dot frequently makes an appearance on the status bar, but vanishes after a while.
This isn’t a glitch or an app notification going berserk — it actually denotes the use of your phone’s camera or microphone. This welcome addition was introduced in Android 12 and has since been part of the operating system — iOS also has something very similar. Whenever an app or a background service is actively using your device’s microphone to capture audio or the camera to record footage, the green dot pops up as a privacy measure.
