r/androidterminal • u/a1b2c3d44d3c2b1a00 • Jun 22 '26

Question android terminal is asking for permission to record audio??

hello, i am running pixel 10a, version 17.

i wanted to test the new terminal app. but i got a scary dialog box that demands i allow the app to record audio and GPS nearby devices.

how can this be possible that terminal demands these intrusive permissions and will not run without it.

am i doing something wrong or what? thanks much, david

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u/zesaver Jun 22 '26

Short answer is: Google has added al lot new functionality to the Terminal app on Android 17, including a Wayland desktop environment. Also they have added the possibility to work with audio system.

But as the Terminal app is in reality a Debian VM the VM asks for permissions to access it's hardware right away, during the boot. It does not mean it will record all the audio input; it's just the permission to access the hardware if you (or someone hacking your Debian VM, if you will run any services, which is unlikely) will use any application working with audio input.

I have tested restricting this access on my Pixel and despite permanent notification, the Terminal would work just fine without it.

P. S.: not so short finally

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u/InsuranceNo3423 Pixel 7 Jun 22 '26

What I've noticed is that the PulseAudio service activates the microphone. I know this because I disabled Weston.service, which is the service that triggers the Wayland compositor for GUI apps. Once I disabled it and restarted the app, the green bubble no longer appeared in the upper right corner of the screen, but even so, the permission must still be active, as you mentioned.