Why You Should Not Agree For All App Permissions?

When you show someone a pic in your phone and they start swiping through your phone gallery!! Annoying moment…right? You are annoyed because all of it is your personal space. Then why do you allow in-app access while downloading a new application on your phone? Privacy threat from app permissions in android or other devices is not something new to know about. Although it is a lot of technical stuff, knowing why you should not agree for all app permissions may give some motivation to stay updated with the minor vigilance which may help save all the personal data.

Why do Apps Need so Many Permissions?

When you download an application on your electronic devices (For example, smartphones, tablets, etc.), the application may ask for certain permissions just after opening. All these permission pop-ups are nothing but user agreement by the makers of applications which require user’s consent before using certain smartphone features. The main objective is to let the user know what features might be used in order to use the application effectively. For example, if you are using Whatsapp, you may need to give access to your contacts for sync, access to a gallery for sharing any media with another contact, camera and microphone access for making audio or video calls, etc. If you deny android app permissions, you may not be able to use particular features. It may also include the inability to use certain apps due to select media permission settings. Hence, in order to run properly and to have full use of all the in-app features, apps need so many permissions in order to comply with the privacy laws over the internet.

What Permissions do Apps Really Need?

It is understandable that the main objective of android app permissions is to safeguard the user privacy and give limited and informed access to the application server in the user’s device. If an application has to open the camera features, it has to seek user’s permission to allow access to the smartphone camera. If you download a call recording application, access to microphone and storage space for the same is required. 

To save your own personal data is why you should not agree to all app permissions. Given below are the usual android app permissions sought by:

• Camera access - Photo/ Video Editor, social media apps (for sharing media) like Snapchat, Beautycam, Whatsapp, Instagram, etc.
• Access to Contacts - Social media communication apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
• Body sensors permissions - Apps to count steps, physical activity, etc. like Google Fit.
• Microphone - Call recording or audio recording applications, for example, ACR, RMC, Whatsapp, etc.
• Calendar access - Most of the applications need access to the calendar for updates.
• GPS location - Taxi apps, food delivery apps, etc. like Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Uber, etc.
• Access to make calls - Apps like Truecaller, Whatsapp which use contact numbers for making calls.
• Access to messages - Usually apps requiring OTP seek this permit like banking apps, Ola, Uber, etc.
• Storage space permissions - Photo editing apps, social media apps wherever information in the form of media has to be saved.

However, sometimes there may be some instance whereby the android app permissions list includes access to such features which are not actually required for running the whole application or any of the particular functions. For example, if a call recording application seeks access to your media gallery, the same is not required per se. Hence, based on the required or assessed use of any particular features, one should know “what app permissions should I allow?” If there is a photo editing application which seeks your phone’s location, you should deny access.