“How do I turn off the microphone on my Android?”

(Answer requested by Brandon Dotson)

There’s no master “off” switch. But there an often-overlooked, semi-stand-alone applet within Android’s Settings that comes close: Permissions Manager.

This is not the app-by-app Permissions settings you may have already seen and used in Settings/Apps.

Android’s Permissions Manager sorts all your apps at once by permission-type, letting you see, at a glance, every app that has been granted that permission.

For example, you can use Permissions Manager to show you every app that has permission to use your phone’s microphone (or any other permission-controlled feature — camera, phone, contacts, location, sensors, calendar, SMS, and storage).

If you see an app on the list that shouldn’t have that permission, you can click to open the offending item, and with one more click, rescind permission: That app will no longer be able to (say) use the mic — or access your contacts, or send texts, or employ whatever permission you’ve withdrawn.

Different versions of Android may put Permissions Manager in slightly different places and with slightly different names, but in most recent versions, simply typing the phrase permissions manager into the Android Setting’s search box will get you there, or close.

If you have trouble, see Google’s Help page, “Control your app permissions on Android 6.0 and up.”

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