Android Nearby Devices Permission Explained

I remember the first time I saw the "Nearby devices" pop-up on my Pixel. I was just trying to pair a new set of earbuds, but the request felt vague. It didn't ask for Bluetooth specifically; it asked for permission to find, connect to, and determine the relative position of nearby devices. It sounds like a lot, and if you're like me, your default instinct is to hit "Don't allow." But on newer versions of Android, things get a bit more nuanced than they used to be.

What 'Nearby devices' actually grants

In the old days—basically anything before Android 12—if an app wanted to use Bluetooth, it usually had to ask for your fine location. It was a mess. I hated giving a weather app or a headphone utility permission to track my GPS just so it could sync. Google finally fixed this by splitting Bluetooth scanning away from location services. That is what the "Nearby devices" permission is at its core.

When you grant this, the app can look for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, see other devices on your local Wi-Fi network, and use Ultra-Wideband (UWB) if your phone has it. It lets your phone know that your Sony WH-1000XM5s are six inches away rather than in the next room. It does not give the app your GPS coordinates, which is a massive win for privacy. However, it does give the app a unique look at your environment. If you are at a coffee shop and your phone sees a specific smart fridge and three specific laptops every day, a data-hungry app can essentially guess where you are anyway without ever touching your GPS hardware.

Why apps suddenly want it

If you've noticed a flood of these requests lately, it's because Google started requiring developers to use this specific permission for "non-location" Bluetooth tasks. I found that almost every "smart" thing in my house—my Philips Hue lights, my Garmin watch, even my smart scale—triggered this prompt after I updated to Android 13.

Most of the time, the reason is simple: connectivity. An app needs to "handshake" with a physical object. If you're using a file-sharing app like SendAnywhere, it needs this to see who else is nearby. The annoying part is when apps that have no business talking to hardware ask for it. I once downloaded a basic calculator that asked for nearby device access. That is a massive red flag. There is no reason a math tool needs to know my neighbor's smart TV is within range.

Auditing every app that has it

I make it a habit to check this list every few months. It's surprisingly easy to lose track of what you've clicked "Allow" or "While using the app" on during a frantic setup process. Here is how I find them on my Pixel (running Android 14), and it’s very similar on most other brands.

1. Open your Settings app.
2. Go to Privacy.
3. Tap on Permission manager.
4. Scroll down until you find Nearby devices.

When I looked at my own list yesterday, I found 14 apps with access. Some made sense, like Spotify and Wear OS. But I found a retail app for a store I visited once six months ago that still had permission to scan my surroundings. I immediately moved that to "Don't allow." It is worth noting that some apps will list "Allowed only while in use" while others might have "Always allow." I rarely, if ever, find a reason to give an app "Always" access to my nearby environment.

Revoking without breaking smart speakers

This is where things get slightly annoying. You might think, "I'll just turn it all off," but then you'll find your flow interrupted. For example, if you revoke this for the Google Home app, you might find you can't set up a new Nest Mini or even cast a YouTube video to your TV as easily. When you revoke a permission, Android doesn't always tell the app "no" gracefully; sometimes the app just crashes or hangs on a "Searching..." screen.

My rule of thumb is: if the app’s primary job is to talk to a piece of hardware you own, leave it on. If it's a social media app or a shop app that claims it needs it for "improved features," I turn it off. If it actually needs it for something I want to do later, it will just ask again. It's not a permanent ban. I’ve found that 90% of the time, the app works perfectly fine without it, and the "requirement" was just a developer being lazy with their permission requests.

Samsung and Xiaomi quirks

If you're on a Samsung Galaxy (One UI 6) or a Xiaomi phone (HyperOS), the menus look a bit different. On my old Galaxy S22, Samsung actually has a "Nearby Device Scanning" toggle buried in the Connection settings that is separate from the individual app permissions. This is a system-level search that looks for things like Galaxy Buds even when no app is open.

Samsung path: Settings > Connections > More connection settings > Nearby device scanning. I usually keep this off to save a little battery, as I'm perfectly capable of tapping my Bluetooth settings when I want to pair something new.

Xiaomi's HyperOS (and older MIUI) is a bit more aggressive. They often have a "Privacy Protection" dashboard that flags apps using "sensitive" permissions in real-time. If you see a blue or green icon in the top left corner of your Xiaomi screen, it might be telling you an app is currently scanning for nearby devices. You can tap that icon to jump straight to the permission toggle.

Safer alternatives for sharing

If you're worried about giving third-party apps permission to scan your house just to move a file, use the built-in tools. Google's "Quick Share" (formerly Nearby Share) is built into the system. It doesn't require you to grant specific permissions to a random "File Transfer" app from the Play Store. It handles the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi handshakes at the OS level, which is much more secure.

Another tip: use the "Private Space" feature if you're on Android 15. You can put apps that absolutely require these permissions into a locked container. When you're not using that space, those apps are effectively frozen and can't scan for anything. It’s a bit of a hassle to set up, but for that one app you only use once a month to sync your smart toaster, it's a great middle ground. Just keep in mind that no software toggle is a 100% guarantee of privacy—it's about making yourself a harder target.