Google’s upcoming version of its Android operating system, Android12, has apparently leaked through design documents.

Screenshots revealing a new user interface and functional changes were shared with XDA Developers, allegedly revealing a new notification panel, privacy features, and widgets.

In the new version of Android, users may receive a warning in the status bar when an app is using the camera or microphone. Tapping on this pop-up will give more detailed information about what app is using the hardware.

Better privacy settings may also contain the option to disable the camera or mute the microphone entirely, as well as quickly toggling location access.

Google is also making changes to widgets, the graphic interfaces that can be placed on the Android home screens. This includes a new ‘Conversations’ interface that allegedly shows  recent messages, missed calls, or activity statuses.

Conversation widgets will apparently be a mandatory feature for all Android 12 devices, but it is not the only one; another reported mandatory feature are indicators at the top of the screen for when the camera or microphone is active.

With regards to notifications, Google is seemingly intending to reduce the number of quick setting tiles – like Wi-Fi, Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb, and more – from six to four.

A number of minor aesthetic changes, such as rounded corners on notifications and swapping the date and time locations, have also seemingly been made.

Google has been criticised repeatedly for a lack of features that adequately address what data is being gathered or hardware accessed.

“Speaking as a user, WTF? More specifically I **thought** I had location tracking turned off on my phone,” one software engineer said in the released chat logs