Android devices may soon offer users far more control over what access apps have to their data and hardware. The latest release has a hidden feature that removes the all-or-nothing approach to access.

A key part of the Android security system is the “permissions” system which controls dozens of settings that say whether or not an app can access a specific feature or setting. These include everything from checking the current battery level to sending text messages automatically.

When users install Android apps, they are presented with a list of permissions that the app requires and must approve the list. The idea here is to flag up apps that might not be quite what they seem: for example, a photo editing app that wants access to your list of contacts should raise suspicion.

One big limitation is that the users can only say yay or nay to the entire list. Either you accept the full set of permissions, or you don’t install the app.

That looks set to change thanks to the revelation by Android Police that the newly-released Android 4.3 operating system includes a hidden feature called App Ops. At the moment it seems to work on apps that you’ve already installed and lets you run through the list of permissions and disable them individually if you want to do so. However, the way it’s set up suggests you’ll also be able to pick and choose permissions when you install apps.

The app appears to be hidden at the moment as it’s still in testing. It appears to have a few bugs (or at least design issues): for example, at the moment it seems that in some cases a permission will only appear in the list for your review once an app has actually used it.

If you have 4.3 installed you can try it out by fiddling with the device settings or, to make things easier, downloading a new app that is simply a launcher for the hidden feature.

The tool does appear to work: for example, Android Police’s Ron Amadeo was able to stop Facebook from using location data without affecting any other Facebook functionality.