TL;DR Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1 brings back the expandable location indicator, a feature Google previously tested in Android 13 but never released.
Tapping the new blue status bar icon opens a privacy dialog that explicitly lists which apps are currently accessing your location.
Previously, the system alerted you to location access but failed to identify the specific app responsible for the tracking.
Google rolled out Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1 earlier today for Tensor-powered Pixel devices. While it includes expected features like flashlight brightness controls and navigation button order settings — changes we anticipated from recent Android Canary releases — it also brought a surprise: the return of the expandable location indicator in the status bar.
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To provide some context, Google introduced privacy indicators in Android 12 to alert you when apps access your camera or microphone. When active, a green icon appears in the status bar; tapping it opens a privacy dialog that reveals exactly which apps are using these permissions. However, location access is treated a bit differently. Although Android similarly displays a status bar icon when an app checks your location, and the aforementioned privacy dialog is titled “Microphone, Camera & Location,” the system currently fails to identify exactly which app is pinging your location.
Left: Location indicator (unexpandable) in Android 16 QPR2. Middle & right: Microphone, Camera & Location dialog not showing location access.
Android 16 QPR3 rectifies this by enabling the expandable location indicator. Unlike the solid green background used for camera and microphone alerts, the location indicator features a solid blue background (though the system reverts to green if multiple permissions are actively being used). More importantly, the “Microphone, Camera & Location” dialog now correctly lists the specific apps accessing your location. Google briefly tested this functionality in Android 13 but never rolled it out publicly.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
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