Would you like disable screen overlay? One of the questions that users of the Android operating system have been asking me the most lately, specifically users with versions of Android Marshmallow, come to us in terms of Android permissions and very specifically with problems with screen overlay on Android, a permission that exists in Android for some accounts versions of the operating system and that since Android M has been modified a little even including a specific section in the settings of our Android which is quite hidden, so much so that many users have no idea from where to find this option within the Android settings.
That is why I have decided to create this video post, in which I explain what exactly that consists of Access permission to screen overlay on Android M. Likewise, I take the opportunity to explain in detail the applications that usually use it, by and for that, in addition to showing you step by step where exactly the settings are to manage the applications that may have use of those screen overlay permissions that, in some cases they can cause problems in certain Android applications and where to find them is a real odyssey for less experienced users.
What exactly is screen overlay on Android?
The screen overlay in Android is a special permission that allows applications to be persistent and display on top of other applications that we are running on our Android terminal. This, in versions prior to Android M, was a permission that applications could access automatically by simply incorporating that access request in the manifest document.xml of the development of the application itself. This permission that makes use of ALERT_SYSTEM_WINDOWS, as of Android 6.0 Marshmallow versions, like all the permissions accessed by Android applications, have undergone certain changes in their management, and now when we run an application for the first time we are going to be asked for access to all the permissions that the aforementioned application requires to function as it should.
Due to this and the need to manage this permit considered very dangerous, a new section has been incorporated into the Android settings, from where we will be able to manage these screen overlay permissions.
For you to understand it in a very simple way, among some of the most popular applications that have this screen overlay permission on Android, we count as an illustrious symbol the Facebook Messenger application and its added feature of showing us notifications of new messages received as a floating icon known to all as Messenger bubbles o Chat Heads.
Another of the applications that make use of this screen overlay to function properly can be found, for example, in the latest update of Google Translate and its new one-touch Translate functionality, a function that allows us, with the simple selection of any text and clicking on the copy option, that a floating Google Translate icon from which to access the instant translation of the copied text.
This permission is considered on Android as Very dangerous or potentially dangerous since it can be used by malicious applications to create a screen overlay on top of our original apps, a screen overlay of an invisible app which could capture our touches on the screen. and steal information from us or make us click without us knowing where we are actually doing it, such as to subscribe to those hateful Premium SMS services that are a real headache.
How do I fix screen overlay issues on Android?
How well I explain you in the video attached to the header of this post and I show you step by step where to find these screen overlay settings in Android M, to fix screen overlay issues on Android M, it will only be enough to know the specific application that is causing the aforementioned problem, and then go to the route Settings / Applications / Application manager and clicking in the upper right part of the screen, on the menu button that can be displayed as a cogwheel, in the form of three dots or under the word MAS.
In this simple way we will have access to the management of the screen overlay in Android M, from which we can enable or disable screen overlay completely or even manage the permissions individually of all the applications to which we have granted this screen overlay permission.
Old video to disable screen overlay
We leave you with the first video we recorded and in which we also explain how to deactivate the screen overlay on Android, an annoying problem that many of you have.
