Permission Ratings Key

Ratings Key

Current Permission Ratings Key

Below is the list currently used by AppApp to assign ratings to permissions.

Since the list is continually being modified by Google[TM], this should always be considered as an incomplete list. The developers at AppApp will continue to monitor this list for changes, and when there are enough to warrant the users attention, we will publish updates to AppApp that contain the updated list.

Currently, there are approximately 213 possible permissions.

As mentioned in the AppApp documention, we present this subjective rating system only as a means to quickly ascertain a basic indication of what type of permissions an app is requesting. When interpreting the ratings please realize that most apps require some permissions and possibly services to be functional. Very rarely will an application have all minimal ratings. Most will have at least a single category with a high rating to be functional as needed, and does not indicate any particular risk.

It is up to you to determine whether or not a permission, service, or combination of any, is an over-reach of the functionality of the application. It is intended by the developers of AppApp that AppApp may assist you in that determination.

Inquiries pertaining to the permissions or services that a developer requires for a particular application should be directed to that specific developer.

Most of the latest list of permissions used by the Android operating system can be found here:

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission.html.

KEY:

First Column is P, L, N or S designation: (P)ersonal, (N)etwork, (L)ocation, (S)ystem

Second Column is the potential invasiveness level: 0-Low, 1-Med, 2-High

Third Column is the permission followed by a possibly incomplete comment.

N 2 .ACCESS_4G_RADIO_DISABLE *Sprint Conn Opt.

N 1 .ACCESS_4G_STATE *Sprint Conn Opt.

P 2 .ACCESS_ALL_DOWNLOADS *Package Access Helper

S 1 .ACCESS_ASEC_ACCESS *Package Access Helper

S 2 .ACCESS_ASEC_CREATE *Package Access Helper

S 2 .ACCESS_ASEC_DESTROY *Package Access Helper

S 2 .ACCESS_ASEC_MOUNT_UNMOUNT *Package Access Helper

L 2 .ACCESS_ASSISTED_GPS *Messaging

N 2 .ACCESS_BLUETOOTH_SHARE *AvrcpService Samsung

S 1 .ACCESS_CACHE_FILESYSTEM *MTP App

P 2 .ACCESS_CELL_ID *Messaging

P 2 .ACCESS_CHECKIN_PROPERTIES Allows read/write access to the "properties" table in the checkin database, to change values that get uploaded.

L 2 .ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION Allows an app to access approximate location derived from network location sources such as cell towers and Wi-Fi.

P 2 .ACCESS_COARSE_UPDATES *Messaging

P 2 .ACCESS_DEVICE_STORAGE *Email, My Files

P 2 .ACCESS_DEV_STORAGE *SASlideShow

S 2 .ACCESS_DOWNLOAD_MANAGER *Internet

S 2 .ACCESS_DOWNLOAD_MANAGER_ADVANCED *Internet

S 2 .ACCESS_DRM *MTP Application

L 2 .ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION Allows an app to access precise location from location sources such as GPS, cell towers, and Wi-Fi.

P 2 .ACCESS_GOOGLE_PASSWORD *Google Account Manager

L 2 .ACCESS_GPS *Messaging

L 2 .ACCESS_LOCATION *Messaging

L 2 .ACCESS_LOCATION_EXTRA_COMMANDS Allows an application to access extra location provider commands

L 1 .ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION Allows an application to create mock location providers for testing

S 1 .ACCESS_MTP *Media Storage

N 1 .ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE Allows applications to access information about networks

N 1 .ACCESS_PROVIDER *Email

S 0 .ACCESS_SURFACE_FLINGER Allows an application to use SurfaceFlinger's low level features

N 1 .ACCESS_USB *Mobile Print

N 1 .ACCESS_WIFI_STATE Allows applications to access information about Wi-Fi networks

P 1 .ACCOUNT_MANAGER Allows applications to call into AccountAuthenticators.

S 1 .ADD_SYSTEM_SERVICE *Pandora, Phone

S 1 .ADD_VOICEMAIL Allows an application to add voicemails into the system.

P 1 .AUTHENTICATE_ACCOUNTS Allows an application to act as an AccountAuthenticator for the AccountManager

N 2 .AUTO_SEND *

S 0 .BATTERY_STATS Allows an application to collect battery statistics

S 0 .BILLING *For paid apps

S 0 .BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE Must be required by an AccessibilityService, to ensure that only the system can bind to it.

S 0 .BIND_APPWIDGET Allows an application to tell the AppWidget service which application can access AppWidget's data.

S 1 .BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN Must be required by device administration receiver, to ensure that only the system can interact with it.

S 1 .BIND_INPUT_METHOD Must be required by an InputMethodService, to ensure that only the system can bind to it.

S 1 .BIND_REMOTEVIEWS Must be required by a RemoteViewsService, to ensure that only the system can bind to it.

P 1 .BIND_TEXT_SERVICE Must be required by a TextService (e.g.

N 1 .BIND_VPN_SERVICE Must be required by an VpnService, to ensure that only the system can bind to it.

S 0 .BIND_WALLPAPER Must be required by a WallpaperService, to ensure that only the system can bind to it.

N 1 .BLUETOOTH_ADMIN Allows applications to discover and pair bluetooth devices

N 2 .BLUETOOTH Allows applications to connect to paired bluetooth devices

S 2 .BRICK Required to be able to disable the device (very dangerous!).

P 1 .BROADCAST_PACKAGE_REMOVED Allows an application to broadcast a notification that an application package has been removed.

N 1 .BROADCAST_SMS Allows an application to broadcast an SMS receipt notification

S 1 .BROADCAST_STICKY Allows an application to broadcast sticky intents.

N 1 .BROADCAST_WAP_PUSH Allows an application to broadcast a WAP PUSH receipt notification

N 2 .permission.C2D_MESSAGE Allows receive of push data from cloud

N 2 .c2dm.permission.RECEIVE Allows the application to receive push notifications from the Google cloud server.

N 2 .c2dm.SEND Allows send of push data from cloud

N 2 .c2dm.permission.SEND Allows send of push data from cloud

S 1 .CRYPT_KEEPR *backup service

N 2 .GCM_MESSAGE Allows receive of push data from cloud (anticipated)

N 2 .gcm.SEND Allows send of push data from cloud (anticipated)

N 2 .gcm.permission.SEND Allows send of push data from cloud (anticipated)

N 2 .CALL_PHONE Allows an application to initiate a phone call without going through the Dialer user interface for the user to confirm the call being placed.

N 2 .CALL_PRIVILEGED Allows an application to call any phone number, including emergency numbers, without going through the Dialer user interface for the user to confirm the call being placed.

S 1 .CAMERA Required to be able to access the camera device.

N 2 .CHANGE_4G_STATE *Sprint Conn Opt.

p 2 .CHANGE_COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE Allows an application to change whether an application component (other than its own) is enabled or not.

S 2 .CHANGE_CONFIGURATION Allows an application to modify the current configuration, such as locale.

N 2 .CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE Allows applications to change network connectivity state

N 2 .CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE Allows applications to enter Wi-Fi Multicast mode

N 2 .CHANGE_WIFI_STATE Allows applications to change Wi-Fi connectivity state

S 0 .CHECK_LICENSE *For paid apps

S 2 .CLEAR_APP_CACHE Allows an application to clear the caches of all installed applications on the device.

S 1 .CLEAR_APP_USER_DATA Allows an application to clear user data

N 1 .CONNECTIVITY_INTERNAL *Phone, Self Service(Sprint)

L 2 .CONTROL_LOCATION_UPDATES Allows enabling/disabling location update notifications from the radio.

S 2 .DELETE_CACHE_FILES Allows an application to delete cache files.

S 2 .DELETE_PACKAGES Allows an application to delete packages.

S 0 .DEVICE_POWER Allows low-level access to power management

S 1 .DIAGNOSTIC Allows applications to RW to diagnostic resources.

S 1 .DISABLE_KEYGUARD Allows applications to disable the keyguard

N 2 .DOWNLOAD_WITHOUT_NOTIFICATION *gmail related

S 1 .DUMP Allows an application to retrieve state dump information from system services.

S 0 .ENABLE_KEYGUARD *Various Services

S 0 .EXPAND_STATUS_BAR Allows an application to expand or collapse the status bar.

S 2 .FACTORY_TEST Run as a manufacturer test application, running as the root user.

S 0 .FLASHLIGHT Allows access to the flashlight

S 1 .FORCE_BACK Allows an application to force a BACK operation on whatever is the top activity.

S 2 .FORCE_STOP_PACKAGES *Music Player

P 2 .GET_ACCOUNTS Allows access to the list of accounts in the Accounts Service

S 1 .GET_TASKS Allows an application to get information about the currently or recently running tasks.

S 1 .GET_DETAILED_TASKS *

S 2 .GLOBAL_SEARCH This permission can be used on content providers to allow the global search system to access their data.

S 2 .GOOGLE_AUTH *Google Services

S 2 .GOOGLE_AUTH.mail *Google Services

S 2 .GOOGLE_AUTH.ALL_SERVICES *Google Services

S 1 .HANDOVER_STATUS *BlueToothShare(samsung)

S 1 .HARDWARE_TEST Allows access to hardware peripherals.

S 2 .INJECT_EVENTS Allows an application to inject user events (keys, touch, trackball) into the event stream and deliver them to ANY window.

L 2 .INSTALL_LOCATION_PROVIDER Allows an application to install a location provider into the Location Manager

S 2 .INSTALL_PACKAGES Allows an application to install packages.

S 0 .INSTALL_SHORTCUT Allows an application to place a shortcut on home screen.

S 1 .INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS *Google

S 1 .INTERNAL_SYSTEM_WINDOW Allows an application to open windows that are for use by parts of the system user interface.

N 2 .INTERNET Allows applications to open network sockets.

S 1 .KIES_BNR *USB Settings

S 2 .KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES Allows an application to call killBackgroundProcesses(String).

L 1 .LOCATION_HARDWARE *

P 2 .MANAGE_ACCOUNTS Allows an application to manage the list of accounts in the AccountManager

S 1 .MANAGE_APP_TOKENS Allows an application to manage (create, destroy, Z-order) application tokens in the window manager.

N 1 .MANAGE_NETWORK_POLICY *Media Hub, Phone

S 1 .MANAGE_USB *Phone

S 2 .MASTER_CLEAR

S 0 .MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS Allows an application to modify global audio settings

S 2 .MODIFY_PHONE_STATE Allows modification of the telephony state - power on, mmi, etc.

S 2 .MOUNT_FORMAT_FILESYSTEMS Allows formatting file systems for removable storage.

S 2 .MOUNT_UNMOUNT_FILESYSTEMS Allows mounting and unmounting file systems for removable storage.

S 1 .MOVE_PACKAGE *S Suggest(Samsung)

N 2 .NET_ADMIN *Phone

N 2 .NFC Allows applications to perform I/O operations over NFC

N 2 .NFCEE_ADMIN NFC Administration (assumed)

S 1 .PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS *Search Apps Provider

S 0 .PERSISTENT_ACTIVITY This constant was deprecated in API level 9. This functionality will be removed in the future; please do not use. Allow an application to make its activities persistent.

P 2 .PERSONAL_MEDIA *Nearby Devices

N 2 .PROCESS_OUTGOING_CALLS Allows an application to monitor, modify, or abort outgoing calls.

P 2 .READ_ATTACHMENT *Email

P 2 .READ_CALENDAR Allows an application to read the user's calendar data.

P 2 .READ_CALL_LOG Allows an application to read the user's call log.

P 2 .READ_CALL_SETTINGS *Contacts

P 2 .READ_CONTACTS Allows an application to read the user's contacts data.

S 1 .READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE Allows an application to read from external storage.

P 2 .READ_FRAME_BUFFER Allows an application to take screen shots and more generally get access to the frame buffer data

S 2 .READ_GSERVICES *For Google service

S 1 .READ_GSETTINGS *For Google service

P 2 .READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS Allows an application to read (but not write) the user's browsing history and bookmarks.

S 0 .READ_INPUT_STATE This constant was deprecated in API level 16. The API that used this permission has been removed.

S 2 .READ_LOGS Allows an application to read the low-level system log files.

S 1 .READ_MMS *wssyncminps(Samsung)

P 2 .READ_NETWORK_USAGE_HISTORY *Google Services

P 2 .READ_OWNER_DATA *Email, SetUp

S 1 .READ_PHONE_STATE Allows read only access to phone state.

P 2 .READ_PROFILE Allows an application to read the user's personal profile data.

S 2 .READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE *Phone

S 1 .READ_SETTINGS Allows an application to read system settings.

P 2 .READ_SMS Allows an application to read SMS messages.

P 2 .READ_SOCIAL_STREAM Allows an application to read from the user's social stream.

P 1 .READ_SYNC_SETTINGS Allows applications to read the sync settings

P 1 .READ_SYNC_STATS Allows applications to read the sync stats

S 1 .READ_TASKS *wssyncminps(Samsung)

P 1 .READ_USER_DICTIONARY Allows an application to read the user dictionary.

S 2 .READ General read of something(?). Deserves some attention

S 2 .REBOOT Required to be able to reboot the device.

S 1 .RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED Allows an application to receive the ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED that is broadcast after the system finishes booting.

P 2 .RECEIVE_MMS Allows an application to monitor incoming MMS messages, to record or perform processing on them.

P 2 .RECEIVE_SMS Allows an application to monitor incoming SMS messages, to record or perform processing on them.

N 2 .RECEIVE_WAP_PUSH Allows an application to monitor incoming WAP push messages.

S 1 .RECORD_AUDIO Allows an application to record audio

N 1 .REGISTRATION Registers into Googles cloud for Push notifications

S 2 .REMOVE_TASKS *Samsung FlashBar

S 1 .REORDER_TASKS Allows an application to change the Z-order of tasks

S 2 .RESTART_PACKAGES This constant was deprecated in API level 8. The restartPackage(String) API is no longer supported.

N 2 .SEND_SMS Allows an application to send SMS messages.

N 2 .SEND_SMS_NO_CONFIRMATION *

S 2 .SET_ACTIVITY_WATCHER Allows an application to watch and control how activities are started globally in the system.

S 0 .SET_ALARM Allows an application to broadcast an Intent to set an alarm for the user.

S 0 .SET_ALWAYS_FINISH Allows an application to control whether activities are immediately finished when put in the background.

S 0 .SET_ANIMATION_SCALE Modify the global animation scaling factor.

S 1 .SET_DEBUG_APP Configure an application for debugging.

S 0 .SET_ORIENTATION Allows low-level access to setting the orientation (actually rotation) of the screen.

S 0 .SET_POINTER_SPEED Allows low-level access to setting the pointer speed.

S 1 .SET_PREFERRED_APPLICATIONS This constant was deprecated in API level 7. No longer useful, see addPackageToPreferred(String) for details.

S 1 .SET_PROCESS_LIMIT Allows an application to set the maximum number of (not needed) application processes that can be running.

S 1 .SET_TIME_ZONE Allows applications to set the system time zone

S 1 .SET_TIME Allows applications to set the system time

S 0 .SET_WALLPAPER_HINTS Allows applications to set the wallpaper hints

S 0 .SET_WALLPAPER Allows applications to set the wallpaper

S 1 .SHUTDOWN *Phone

S 1 .SIGNAL_PERSISTENT_PROCESSES Allow an application to request that a signal be sent to all persistent processes

S 0 .STATUS_BAR Allows an application to open, close, or disable the status bar and its icons.

S 1 .STOP_APP_SWITCHES *NFC Services

S 2 .START_ANY_ACTIVITY *System UI

P 1 .SUBSCRIBED_FEEDS_READ Allows an application to allow access the subscribed feeds ContentProvider.

P 2 .SUBSCRIBED_FEEDS_WRITE

S 1 .SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW Allows an application to open windows using the type TYPE_SYSTEM_ALERT, shown on top of all other applications.

S 1 .UPDATE_DEVICE_STATS Allows an application to update device statistics.

S 1 .UPDATE_LOCK *Phone

S 1 .USE_CREDENTIALS Allows an application to request authtokens from the AccountManager

S 1 .USE_SIP Allows an application to use SIP service

S 0 .VIBRATE Allows access to the vibrator

S 0 .WAKE_LOCK Allows using PowerManager WakeLocks to keep processor from sleeping or screen from dimming

P 2 .WALLET_INTERNAL *Google Wallet

N 2 .WAPPUSH_MANAGER_BIND *Phone

P 2 .WHITELIST_BLUETOOTH_DEVICE *

N 2 .WIFI_LOCK *Samsung apps

S 1 .WRITE_APN_SETTINGS Allows applications to write the apn settings

P 2 .WRITE_CALENDAR Allows an application to write (but not read) the user's calendar data.

P 2 .WRITE_CALL_LOG Allows an application to write (but not read) the user's contacts data.

P 2 .WRITE_CALL_SETTINGS *Contacts

P 2 .WRITE_CONTACTS Allows an application to write (but not read) the user's contacts data.

S 1 .WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE Allows an application to write to external storage.

S 2 .WRITE_GSERVICES Allows an application to modify the Google service map.

S 1 .WRITE_GSETTINGS *For Google service

P 2 .WRITE_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS Allows an application to write (but not read) the user's browsing history and bookmarks.

S 2 .WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE *camera

S 2 .WRITE_MMS *wssyncminps(Samsung)

P 2 .WRITE_OWNER_DATA *SetUp

P 2 .WRITE_PROFILE Allows an application to write (but not read) the user's personal profile data.

S 2 .WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS Allows an application to read or write the secure system settings.

S 2 .WRITE_SETTINGS Allows an application to read or write the system settings.

P 1 .WRITE_SMS Allows an application to write SMS messages.

P 2 .WRITE_SOCIAL_STREAM Allows an application to write (but not read) the user's social stream data.

P 2 .WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS Allows applications to write the sync settings

S 2 .WRITE_TASKS *wssyncminps(Samsung)

P 1 .WRITE_USER_DICTIONARY Allows an application to write to the user dictionary.