Reading an app's permissions before you install
Three minutes on the store page that will stop you handing your contacts to a torch.
Both major stores now publish a data summary on every listing. Almost nobody reads it, partly because it is below the screenshots and partly because it is written to be skimmed past. It is the most useful three minutes you can spend before installing anything.
Match the permission to the job
The question is never whether a permission is scary. It is whether the app needs it to do the thing it claims to do.
- A camera app needs the camera. Obviously.
- A scanner needs the camera and, to save a file, storage. It does not need your contacts, your location or your microphone.
- A note app needs storage. Location is a reasonable option if it timestamps where a note was made, but it should be optional and off.
- A torch needs nothing at all. Any permission on a torch is a business model.
Precise against approximate location
Where the choice is offered, approximate is almost always enough. A weather app does not need to know which room you are in. Both platforms let you grant approximate location only, and most apps that ask for precise will work fine without it.
“Data linked to you” is the line that matters
Store summaries distinguish between data collected and data linked to your identity. Anonymous crash reports are one thing. A persistent advertising identifier attached to your usage is another. If a simple utility reports linked identifiers and third-party advertising, that is the product: the app is free because you are the inventory.
Grant at the moment of use
Modern versions of both platforms let you approve a permission when it is first needed rather than at install. Take that option. It makes the reason visible: if an app asks for your microphone at the moment you press “export PDF”, you have learned something.
The three-minute routine
- Scroll to the data section on the store page, before the reviews.
- Compare each item against the one job the app does.
- Check for “linked to you” and for third-party advertising.
- Install, then set location to approximate and deny anything you have not yet seen a reason for.
Last reviewed 25 September 2026 · Utilities
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