How to Turn Off the Green Microphone Icon on Android?

In Android 12 and above, the privacy policy was significantly improved, and tons of new features were added to ensure users’ privacy. One such feature is the green microphone icon or the green dot that appears on the top corner of the mobile phone.

Whenever you see that indicator, it means that the microphone or the camera of the device is in use. While it is an excellent step towards raising awareness of some apps that secretly spy on people, not everyone is fond of this new feature.

In today’s guide, we’ll focus on how to turn off the green microphone icon on Android phones. Keep in mind that you’ll need to connect your PC to your Android phone to get started.

Basics

Firstly, ensure that you have connected your Android device to your computer using a power cable. In case your Android device is connected to the PC but not allowing it to see the contents of the mobile phone, you will have to enable the ‘Developer Mode’ first and enable the USB debugging permissions.

Enabling Developer Mode

To enable the developer mode in Android, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Scroll down to the end and click on ‘About Phone’. 

3. Click on ‘Software Information’ and tap on ‘Build Number’ 7 or 8 times until you see the option to enable the developer mode. 

Steps-by-Step Instructions

Now that you have enabled the developer mode, let’s move on to why you’re here and how you can remove the green microphone icon for good.

1. Go to Settings > Developers Mode > Toggle on “USB Debugging”.

2. Now, connect your Android device with your computer and enable the permissions from the pop-up notifications. 

3. Download “Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tool” on your PC from here.

Note: We will be using Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tool v1.3.0 for this guide. 

4. Once the download completes, extract the contents and run the setup to install the tool. 

5. Next up, download the “Android SDK Platform-tools 29.0.5” from here. 

6. Again, extract all the contents into a separate folder and then open that folder. 

7. Now, in the address bar, where it says ‘Local Disk (#)  > Platform-tools’, select all and type in ‘CMD’ and press enter. 

8. Once you press enter, the CMD prompt with the platform tools directory should appear. 

9. Type ‘adb devices’ and run the command and you’ll see the list of attached devices.

Important: In case you don’t see any linked device, ensure that you have properly connected the Android device with the PC and that the minimal ADB and fastboot are properly installed as well. 

10. Copy this command into the CMD prompt and press enter: 

adb shell cmd device_config put privacy camera_mic_icons_enabled false default

Now, check to see if you’re still seeing the Green dot whenever you’re using the microphone or the camera. In case the problem is still not solved, you may have to disable the location permissions as well. To do that, type this command into the CMD prompt:

adb shell cmd device_config put privacy location_indicators_enabled false default

Make sure to copy the command as it is because even a tiny little space could lead to an error. Furthermore, if you ever want to enable the green dot again, follow the same steps and edit the code from “false” to “true” and the features will be enabled once again. 

Alternate Solution – Disabling the permissions 

If the above-mentioned solution seems like a hassle to you, you can disable the camera and microphone permissions so you’ll never see that green dot when using those apps. Although, once you have disabled the permissions, the applications won’t let you use a few of its features. 

To disable the permissions, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap on Apps.
3. Tap on the desired application that is bothering you with the green dot. 
4. Click on “Permissions” and deny the microphone and camera permissions. 

Now, the application won’t be able to use the microphone or camera at any point without your permission. 

Alternate Solution – Turning Sensors Off

Another alternative solution that can work is turning off the sensors but it isn’t the ideal deal since you won’t be able to use the microphone or the camera. But, if you’re worried that someone might be listening or using your camera, you must use this feature for peace of mind. Follow these steps to enable the sensors mode.

1. Go to Settings.

2. Scroll down to the end and click on ‘Developers mode’. 

3. Find and click on ‘Quick Settings Developer Tiles’ and turn on the “Sensors Off” feature.

4. Now you can enable/disable this feature from the scroll-down menu of your phone.