Emma was scrolling through her phone late one evening when a tiny green dot suddenly appeared near the top of the screen. She paused, wondering what it meant. A few seconds later, it disappeared. Then it returned again. Emma became uneasy because she was not taking a photograph, recording audio, or making a video call. She remembered hearing that Android phones use indicators to show when sensitive hardware is being accessed, but she had never paid much attention to them before. Instead of immediately assuming someone was spying on her, she decided to investigate what had triggered it.

She opened her phone’s settings and began looking through the privacy options. The green dot appeared once more while she was checking the menu, and this time Emma became more concerned. She wondered whether an unfamiliar application was secretly using her microphone or camera. Her first instinct was to delete several apps, but she stopped herself. There had to be a way to identify exactly what was happening before she made a decision. She opened the privacy dashboard and started reviewing the recent activity. Then she noticed something that made her stop scrolling.