Do you know what Android permissions are? Let's take a look at how Android operates app permissions and how to handle them. It's very crucial that you understand the importance of permissions as they are the fundamental operating system which attributes in securing your privacy. If you noticed recently the Android changed its permission setup. So the way it works brings a little bit of a confusion after the change.
How do you manage them and how does the app permissions work? Let's find it out.
What are Android Permissions
When an app wants to access certain sensitive information from your device, it will ask for your permission to use certain features. These Android app permissions are beneficial.
You should be conscious that not all the apps in your phone need access to your camera, microphone or location. Our mobile phones hold so many personal information, so it's not wrong to restrict certain permissions.
Let's take a look at the modern ways of which the Android permission works, as Android changed the way it works from beginning with Android 6 marshmallow. Below are the directions for stock Android devices. Please note that the steps might differ according to your phone.
Incase if you are not sure, you can view the description which will be available on top of each page.
To see every app that you've already given the permission for certain features tap 'Permission' then tap allowed. The apps that have asked for your permission but you denied action will be shown under the 'Denied' section.
Tap 'Allow' or 'Deny' to change an app's permission status. To view in the apps full permission page go to 'See all (app) permissions' or head to Settings > Apps and notifications > See all X apps, after tapping this you will be headed to 'Permissions', click it. This will show you more.
Review Specific Permissions
Android categorizes permission into large categories like storage and location but if you take a look at it you will notice that under each category there are sub groups. To find these options head to the apps permission page. Tap the menu button which is the three dots at the top right. Now click 'All Permission' which will show you the full categories. Let's see an example below.
Right under the 'Storage' section you will witness 'Read the content of your shared storage' and 'Modify or delete the content of your shared storage'.
Read and write permission to your file system will be provided with this. You can view more information about it if you tap any of the above permission.
You will see a compilation of 'Other app capabilities' just at the bottom. There are certain permissions that aren't a risk to your privacy. These are common amongst apps so they don't need any approval. Some of them are receive data from the internet, control vibration and many more.
Do you know that all the granular permissions inside are automatically permitted so you should be cautious while approving any group of permissions. You have the ability to choose the specific app from the group individually.
Permission to New Apps
So we have already discussed granting permission to the apps that are already in your device but are you installing a new app? How do you handle the permissions?
If you head to Google play store then you can view all the permission the app might request you before you even install the app.
And also you can download this from the play store which is in the web version. You will find 'Additional information' when you scroll down. Now go to 'Permission' and click view details.
The app permissions need not be granted if you install an app built in the latest version of Android, but the app will only ask for permission if it is needed. A decently well built app will walk you through all the details before you allow the permission. These apps make you aware beforehand which is great.
There are also some other apps that at other times will not show permission requests unless you use the function of the app. For example: let's say you are sending a picture message to someone then you will be asked for permission for the app to access your storage.
Denying Permission
What will happen when you don't allow the permission for certain apps? It depends on the app how it will work after you deny permission. Sometimes it would work perfectly fine without some functions. Let's say you are using Instagram without allowing permission to access the camera. In this case the Instagram app would work just fine other than you can't capture any pictures through it.
There are also instances where the app doesn't work fine if you deny permission as some functions don't work until the permission is granted. Also if the developers didn't want to grant permission for those who deny it so allowing permission would be needed for the app to work.
If in case you've already downloaded an app and given all the permission but for some reason you go back and deny the permission of the app. You should know that the app would detect it when you deny it so it will ask for the permission again. it's all up to the developer to allow or not allow it if you deny the permission. If any feature in the app doesn't work then you have to go through the permission list to find out if you have not permitted anything.
If the app keeps asking you for permission but you are not willing to approve all your details then you can deny it again, after that you will see an option called 'Don't ask again'.
The Older System of App Permission
The classic system is applied on permission in Android 4 lollipop and the earlier versions. Let's take a look at how it works briefly as only a small number of devices is run in these versions.
You have to accept all the permission that applies when you install an app which runs on Android 6 and earlier versions. This is called the all or nothing system. The most unfortunate issue is if you don't like even one permission that the app is asking for you have to either accept all the permissions and install the app or don't download it at all. Even to keep updated with the latest version you have to accept all newly added categories of permissions to have the latest version.
If you rooted your phone to use a permission manager then you will not have to worry about this issue if not you will have to come across many permission setup problems. If you have those permission managers then you can have all the control. That's why Google changed its system.
You will have to face these issues only if you use a very old Android phone other than that you don't have to worry. The issue arises in the older permission is if the developers has not targeted Android 6 or the new versions. Instead of asking for permission individually you'll see a reminder which will ask you to accept all permission when downloading an app.
So you still can use the permission manager to accept only certain permissions like what we mentioned above but it would be an interference to the app if the app is built with these functions.
Use it Wisely
It's up to you to decide what permission to allow and to trust an app even though if it is accessing sensitive information from your device. It's not certain that you should only accept certain features. In this instance you should be using your instincts.
Let's say you deny your location access to Google map. In this case it wouldn't work and also if you have a messaging app in which there's a built in camera you have to allow access to the camera option. But what if a ludo game is requesting for your microphone or your camera? Then It is not necessary to grant these permissions.
The one thing you should be conscious of is, if an app has the full permission to use certain features then the app can do anything with it. When an app has all the valid reasons for accessing your current location sometimes it can also detect your background location even if you are not using the app. This will result in sending your personal data to advertisers which is so dangerous. This is why you have to be mindful of allowing permission for some risky apps.
It's not really possible to find out how an app uses your granted permission so it's advisable to download those trusted apps. You can also allow granting temporary app permission for certain apps if you don't want the granted permissions to be running in the background. For this you can try the app called 'Bouncer'
Handle with Care..
So this article has provided you with all the details of app permissions so now you know how to use them. Our phones are useless without any apps so it's important to allow app permissions, so be mindful of how to manage them and keep your information safe. You should consider reviving each permission before you download an app for good results.
How do you manage them and how does the app permissions work? Let's find it out.
What are Android Permissions
When an app wants to access certain sensitive information from your device, it will ask for your permission to use certain features. These Android app permissions are beneficial.
You should be conscious that not all the apps in your phone need access to your camera, microphone or location. Our mobile phones hold so many personal information, so it's not wrong to restrict certain permissions.
Let's take a look at the modern ways of which the Android permission works, as Android changed the way it works from beginning with Android 6 marshmallow. Below are the directions for stock Android devices. Please note that the steps might differ according to your phone.
View and Manage Android Permissions
The permissions that you have granted for the apps that you have installed can be viewed anytime. To view:
Go to Settings > Privacy > Permission manager to check if there's any malfunction in certain main features like camera, SMS etc. The apps like SMS permissions are allowed by letting the app read and then send the SMS, so if you see mostly all are straightforward.
The permissions that you have granted for the apps that you have installed can be viewed anytime. To view:
Go to Settings > Privacy > Permission manager to check if there's any malfunction in certain main features like camera, SMS etc. The apps like SMS permissions are allowed by letting the app read and then send the SMS, so if you see mostly all are straightforward.
To see every app that you've already given the permission for certain features tap 'Permission' then tap allowed. The apps that have asked for your permission but you denied action will be shown under the 'Denied' section.
Tap 'Allow' or 'Deny' to change an app's permission status. To view in the apps full permission page go to 'See all (app) permissions' or head to Settings > Apps and notifications > See all X apps, after tapping this you will be headed to 'Permissions', click it. This will show you more.
Android categorizes permission into large categories like storage and location but if you take a look at it you will notice that under each category there are sub groups. To find these options head to the apps permission page. Tap the menu button which is the three dots at the top right. Now click 'All Permission' which will show you the full categories. Let's see an example below.
Right under the 'Storage' section you will witness 'Read the content of your shared storage' and 'Modify or delete the content of your shared storage'.
You will see a compilation of 'Other app capabilities' just at the bottom. There are certain permissions that aren't a risk to your privacy. These are common amongst apps so they don't need any approval. Some of them are receive data from the internet, control vibration and many more.
Do you know that all the granular permissions inside are automatically permitted so you should be cautious while approving any group of permissions. You have the ability to choose the specific app from the group individually.
Permission to New Apps
So we have already discussed granting permission to the apps that are already in your device but are you installing a new app? How do you handle the permissions?
If you head to Google play store then you can view all the permission the app might request you before you even install the app.
Click 'About this app' which will open the description. Next move downwards and tap the 'See more' tab which is right next to 'App permission'. Now you will come across a list of certain permissions and permission groups the app will attempt to request you.
The app permissions need not be granted if you install an app built in the latest version of Android, but the app will only ask for permission if it is needed. A decently well built app will walk you through all the details before you allow the permission. These apps make you aware beforehand which is great.
There are also some other apps that at other times will not show permission requests unless you use the function of the app. For example: let's say you are sending a picture message to someone then you will be asked for permission for the app to access your storage.
Denying Permission
What will happen when you don't allow the permission for certain apps? It depends on the app how it will work after you deny permission. Sometimes it would work perfectly fine without some functions. Let's say you are using Instagram without allowing permission to access the camera. In this case the Instagram app would work just fine other than you can't capture any pictures through it.
If in case you've already downloaded an app and given all the permission but for some reason you go back and deny the permission of the app. You should know that the app would detect it when you deny it so it will ask for the permission again. it's all up to the developer to allow or not allow it if you deny the permission. If any feature in the app doesn't work then you have to go through the permission list to find out if you have not permitted anything.
If the app keeps asking you for permission but you are not willing to approve all your details then you can deny it again, after that you will see an option called 'Don't ask again'.
The Older System of App Permission
The classic system is applied on permission in Android 4 lollipop and the earlier versions. Let's take a look at how it works briefly as only a small number of devices is run in these versions.
You have to accept all the permission that applies when you install an app which runs on Android 6 and earlier versions. This is called the all or nothing system. The most unfortunate issue is if you don't like even one permission that the app is asking for you have to either accept all the permissions and install the app or don't download it at all. Even to keep updated with the latest version you have to accept all newly added categories of permissions to have the latest version.
You will have to face these issues only if you use a very old Android phone other than that you don't have to worry. The issue arises in the older permission is if the developers has not targeted Android 6 or the new versions. Instead of asking for permission individually you'll see a reminder which will ask you to accept all permission when downloading an app.
So you still can use the permission manager to accept only certain permissions like what we mentioned above but it would be an interference to the app if the app is built with these functions.
Use it Wisely
It's up to you to decide what permission to allow and to trust an app even though if it is accessing sensitive information from your device. It's not certain that you should only accept certain features. In this instance you should be using your instincts.
Let's say you deny your location access to Google map. In this case it wouldn't work and also if you have a messaging app in which there's a built in camera you have to allow access to the camera option. But what if a ludo game is requesting for your microphone or your camera? Then It is not necessary to grant these permissions.
The one thing you should be conscious of is, if an app has the full permission to use certain features then the app can do anything with it. When an app has all the valid reasons for accessing your current location sometimes it can also detect your background location even if you are not using the app. This will result in sending your personal data to advertisers which is so dangerous. This is why you have to be mindful of allowing permission for some risky apps.
It's not really possible to find out how an app uses your granted permission so it's advisable to download those trusted apps. You can also allow granting temporary app permission for certain apps if you don't want the granted permissions to be running in the background. For this you can try the app called 'Bouncer'
Handle with Care..
So this article has provided you with all the details of app permissions so now you know how to use them. Our phones are useless without any apps so it's important to allow app permissions, so be mindful of how to manage them and keep your information safe. You should consider reviving each permission before you download an app for good results.