To answer the question of what are the permissions in an android application? It is pretty simple, permissions are specific privileges that every application must ask for prior to being installed on your android phone or tablet. Some applications can ask permissions to access sensitive data on our phones.
Some of those permissions are to access our SD card data, our contact data, our exact location, even our camera.
How Are Permissions Implemented And Why?
Permissions are implemented by google to ensure the users are aware of what the application wants. For example: every time you download an app from Google Play Store, prior to the app installation, Google will show all the permissions that the specific app requires. You can then view all the permissions required and choose whether to accept them and install the app or not. This ensures that the app cannot do anything without the user’s knowledge. Permissions also serve to protect the users form potentially fraudulent apps.
Android API framework handles the permissions in the system process. Permission mechanism is then called to verify that the application actually has permission to do what it wants to do. There are some applications that the Linux Kernel handles, e.g. Bluetooth. Developer doesn’t need to worry about if the permissions are handled properly, because all of the API calling is automatic.
What Are Those Permissions?
There are certain number of permissions that Google has provided to developers to use in their apps. I’ll mention just a few of them that you should keep an eye on when installing any app.
- Device and app history: This enables the app to read your browser bookmarks and history and other sensitive data.
- Identity: With this permission the app can find, modify or remove accounts from the device.
- Location: The app can see your exact or approximate location.
- Photos/Media-Phone: This enables the app to modify SD card and USB storage on the device.
- Microphone: It gives the app a permission to use the microphone and even record audio.
- Camera: The app can access the camera and take pictures or video without the user even knowing.
- Device ID & call information: App has access to devices ID, can know whether you are making a call and the phone number you are calling.
