Google's next big Android update may block background apps from camera

The next major version of Android, for now referred to as "Android P" until Google comes up with a dessert-inspired code name, may have a new feature to help protect your privacy.

An Android Open Source Project commit, spotted by XDA-Developers, indicates that apps that have been idle for more than "a certain amount of time" will not be able to access your phone's camera.

It's not clear yet when Google will officially announce Android P, but the world may get its first official taste of it at this year's Google I/O Developer Conference, scheduled for May 8-10 in Mountain View, California.

This may seem like a small tweak, but it could fix a vulnerability to which some Android phones were previously susceptible. In 2014, a hacker was able to remotely gain access to a Nexus 5's camera, even when the malware was running in the background.

So if you're an Android user who's worried about snoops taking pictures of you without your knowledge, be ready to download Android P as soon as it's available for your phone... which, if it's not a Pixel, will probably be several months after the official consumer release.