Google is doing this to protect your old Android phones

In order to protect old Android phones from malware and malicious ad trackers, Google will reportedly be bringing a privacy protection feature to all old Android phones. With the release of Android 11, Google had introduced auto-resetting permissions. What this feature does is it prevents an app from accessing storage, mic, cameras and other sensitive features if the app hasn’t been used for months.

In Android 11, you are required to provide access to your data to an app if it hasn’t been opened for a period of time. This prevents apps from collecting data in the background. Google will be bringing this same feature in old Android phones so that the app doesn’t get access to data from old Android phones lying unused.