The policy will change in April, but developers can ask for feedback on their use cases starting in May. There will also be a grace period for the first few months. Only new apps will need background location approval when August 3rd arrives, but Google will start removing existing apps without that approval on November 2nd.

While this won't do much to limit Android's own location sharing, it could still be a big deal if you're particularly privacy-conscious. Facebook and others have been accused of grabbing more location data than they really need, and in some cases giving users little to no choice over how that info is sent. The stricter policy not only promises to cut back on privacy abuses, but may have above-board developers asking whether or not they need background location checks in the first place. If there's a concern a this early stage, it's that the criteria for acceptable location use is currently vague. What's "necessary" in Google's view might not be the same for everyone else.