Android app permissions explained and how to use them

As the name suggests, permissions govern what an app is allowed to do and access. This ranges from reading the data stored on your phone, such ... LinksonAndroidAuthoritymayearnusacommission. Learnmore. AndroidapppermissionsexplainedandhowtousethemGettoknowAndroid'sapppermissionstokeepyoursmartphonesafefromrogueapps.FeaturesByRobertTriggs•October25,2021RobertTriggs/AndroidAuthoritySincetheintroductionofAndroid6.0Marshmallow,theAndroidOShasgranteduserscontroloverapppermissions,dictatingwhatourappscanandcannotaccess.Asourphonesbecomemoreentrenchedinthesensitiveaspectsofourpersonallives,fromfamilyphotostofinance,carefulcontrolofthesepermissionshasbecomeincreasinglyimportant.WiththemovetoAndroid12,Googleistakingprivacyupanotherlevelandgrantingusersevenmorecontrol.Solet’sdiveintowhatapppermissionsdoandhowbesttoleveragethemtokeepyoursmartphonesecure. Readmore:ThebestprivacyappsforAndroid UnderstandingAndroidapppermissions Asthenamesuggests,permissionsgovernwhatanappisallowedtodoandaccess.Thisrangesfromreadingthedatastoredonyourphone,suchascontactsandmediafiles,throughtousinghardwareincludingyourhandset’scameraormicrophone.Grantingpermissionallowstheapptousethefeature.Denyingaccesspreventsitfromdoingso.Simpleenough.Appscannotautomaticallygrantthemselvespermissions,thesehavetobeconfirmedbytheuserviaanon-screenprompt.Appswillaskyoutoaccepteachoftheirrequestedpermissionsthefirsttimeyoulaunchthemviaapopupthatasksyouto“allow”or“deny”eachrequest.Thiswillalsoreoccuronstartupifyoudenypermissionsorifanappisupdatedtorequirenewpermissions. Seealso:ThebestsecurityappsforAndroidWell-maintainedmodernappswillcontinuetofunctionevenifyoudenythemsomeorevenallpermissions.Althoughfeaturesthatrequirepermissions,suchasyourlocation,obviouslywon’tworkoncedenied.Ifyoutrytouseafeaturerequiringapreviouslydeniedpermission,you’llseethepopupappearagain.Thereareoftennoproblemswithdenyingapppermissionsyoufeeluncomfortablewith,theycanalwaysbechangedatalaterdate. ApppermissionsexplainedRobertTriggs/AndroidAuthorityMostofAndroid’sapppermissionsareself-explanatory,buthere’sabreakdownofwhateachoneactuallymeans. BodySensors—allowsaccesstoyourhealthdataandstepcountfrompairedheart-ratemonitors,fitnesstrackers,andothersensors. Calendar— allowsappstoread,create,edit,ordeleteyourcalendarevents. Calllogs—Appswiththispermissioncanreadandwritephonecalllogs. Camera—takingphotos,recordingfootage,andstreamingvideo. Contacts— read,create,oredityourcontactlist,aswellasaccessthelistofallaccountsusedonyourdevice. Filesandmedia—accesstoyourfiles,media,photos,andbasicallyanythingelsestoredonyourphone’smemory. Location— accessyourlocationusingGPSforhighaccuracy,andcellulardataandWi-Fiforapproximateaccuracy. Microphone— usedforrecordingaudio,includingforvideo. Nearbydevices—whetheranappcanfind,connectto,anddeterminethepositionofothernearbydevices. Phone— accessyourphonenumberandnetworkinfo.RequiredformakingcallsandVoIP,voicemail,callredirect,andeditingcalllogs. Physicalactivity—accessyourphysicalactivitylogs,suchasstepcountandexerciseinfo. SMS— read,receive,andsendMMSandSMSmessages. HowtouseAndroidapppermissions Anappwillalwaysaskyoutoconfirmitspermissionsthefirsttimeyourunit,butyoucanalwaysgobackandreadjustyourpreferencesatalaterdatebydiggingthroughyourphone’ssettingsmenu.Therearetwoconvenientwaystoviewpermissions,eitherbysortingappsbypermissionsorbyviewingeachappindividually.Thefirstplacetostartforeithermethodistoheadintothe AndroidSettings menu. Togglepermissionsbyapp Ifyouwanttoseethepermissionsthatyou’veenabledforaspecificapp,thenheadintotheAppsmenu,selectyourdesiredapp,andthenhitPermissions. Thisoptionwillpresentyouwithaquickoverviewofthepermissionsthatyou’vealreadygrantedordeniedtotheapp(seetheimageabove).Youcanadjustthesepermissionsbyclickingonthem.Dependingonthepermission,you’llseeeitherasimpleAlloworDenyoptionorthreemoreadvancedchoices—Allowwhileusingtheapp,Askeverytime,andDon’tallow.They’reprettyself-explanatorybutyoushouldonlyusethefirstoptionforappsyoureallytrust. Togglepermissionsbytype Ifyoupreferanoverviewofalltheappsgrantedaspecificpermission,suchasthosethatcanrecordfromyourmicrophoneforexample,thenyoucansortappsbythiscriteriatoo.HeadbackintoSettingsandfindthePrivacytab.You’llthenwanttoselectthePermissionManager.Fromhere,youcanbrowsethroughalloftheavailablepermissionsonyourphone,aswellasaquickoverviewofhowmanyappshavebeengrantedeachpermission. Clickingonanyofthepermissionswilldisplayjusttheappsthathaverequestedthisparticularfeature.Youcanmakechangesheretoo,byclickingontheappthenpickingallowordenyaccessforindividualapps(seethegalleryabove). Whichpermissionstoallowanddeny?RobertTriggs/AndroidAuthorityDenyingpermissionsisoneofthebestwaystokeepyourphoneanddatasafefrommaliciousapplications.Thego-tocasestudyis2014’splagueofflashlightappsthatrequestedcontactdata,microphoneaccess,andoftenevenmorejusttotogglealightonandoff.Nodoubtmanyoftheseappswererequestingaccessfordatacollectionpurposesandperhapsworse.Broadlyspeaking,reputableappdevelopersusuallyonlyrequestthepermissionstheirapplicationrequires,butthisisn’tagreenlighttoallowanythingapopularapprequests.Youmightnotwanttousecertainfeaturestiedtodataextraction,eitherfordiagnosticoradvertisingpurposes. Alwaysconsiderwhethertherequestedpermissionisappropriatefortheapp. Generally,considerwhethertherequestedpermissionisappropriateforthegivenappandbewaryofthosethatdon’tseemtomakesense.Messagingappswillcertainlyneedyourcontacts,SMS,andprobablycameraandmicrophonetooforvideocalls.Theyprobablydon’tneedyourhealthinformation.Remember,youcanalwayscheckoutallthepermissionsanapprequestsbeforeyouinstallitbycheckingoutthedescriptionintheGooglePlayStore.Agoodappdeveloperwillalwaysdivulgewhateachpermissionisneededfortoo,whichcanhelpwithpeaceofmind. ImprovedprivacyinAndroid12RobertTriggs/AndroidAuthorityAndroid12takesprivacyandsecurityfurtherthanpreviousversionsofourfavoritemobileoperatingsystem.Givingusgreatertransparencyandcontroloverthetypesofdatathatapplicationshaveaccessto.Forinstance,Android12notincludescameraandmicrophonepermissionquicksettingstoggles.Thiscanbeusedtotemporarilydisableallappsfromaccessingyourcameraormicrophone,idealformomentswhenyouwanttoensuremaximumprivacy.TheOSalsonowdisplaysasmalllightinthetopleftofyourscreenwhenanappaccessesthesefunctions,soyouknowwhenyou’rebroadcasting. Related: HowtoupdateyourFacebookprivacysettingsGooglealsoincludesadetailedPrivacyDashboardthatdisplaysallpermissionsusedbyappsthepast24hours,howmanytimes,andbywhichapps.Whilefewarelikelytocheckthedashboardregularly,itisahandytoolafinalforcatchingoutappsthatmightbeabusingpermissionsinthebackground.AnotherAndroid12privacy-focusedfeatureistheintroductionofapproximateratherthanpreciselocationdata,suchasforweatherappsthatdon’tneedtoknowexactlywhereyouare. Androidisincreasinglyprivacy-consciousandapppermissionsareoneofthekeytoolstohelpkeepyourphoneanditscontentssecure.Nowyouknowhow,besuretousethemtokeepyoursensitivedataawayfromunscrupulousapps. ThisAndroid11privacyfeaturewillexpandtoMarshmallowdevicesandhigherNewsAndroid12'sPrivateComputeServiceswillgoopen-sourcetoprotectprivacyNewsAndroid12.1featuresleak:AtonoffoldableimprovementsincomingNewsFeaturesCybersecurityPrivacyComments