Camera permission not enforced

Fhjgdfjj

I set the camera permission to 'Ask every time' on Instagram/Whatsapp.

First time launching the camera in the app, it shows 3 options 'Allow while using the app', 'Allow only this time', 'Don't allow'.

'I select 'Allow only this time'.

I close the app and even restart the phone. When I launch the app again, it no longer asks if i want to allow permission and instead just opens the camera.

Why is this happening? It's supposed to ask every single time for permission right?

mmmm

Fhjgdfjj have you tried retoggling the toggle switch? Turning things off and on again works a lot of the time. But then so does banging it with something heavy repeatedly. I wouldn’t try the latter one though.

GrapheneOS

Fhjgdfjj Allowing once has a timer after it stops being used before it stops being usable again. Closing the activity or force stopping doesn't reset that, the timer still applies. That's just how Android's permission model works. Worth noting that the the app must be in the foreground to use the camera or microphone, including when allowing only once. It's not only for the allow while using the app setting but also allowing a single session.

matchboxbananasynergy

Is this the case for specific apps, or in general?

Skyway

Can confirm, tried with signal . selected " only this time " and even after locking signal and killing app it opens camera without prompt .

matchboxbananasynergy

Fhjgdfjj

matchboxbananasynergy I think in general. Personally, I've tried whatsapp instagram and outlook.

Fhjgdfjj

mmmm Yeah, i tried selecting the other options and then switched back to ask everytime but the same thing happens

Murcielago

Out of curiosity, I have just tested the described behavior briefly with slightly different results.

Since I don't have Whatsapp or Instagram, I tested the following apps:

1.) GoogleCamera
2.) Signal
3.) Threema

I set the camera access of all apps to "ask every time".

As expected, the query dialog "while using app/only this time/don't allow" opens for all tested apps the first time they are accessed.

When the camera is subsequently opened, the camera is immediately accessed without a dialog as described by @Fhjgdfjj

Note: After some time, the query dialog appears again in GoogleCamera (as if a timer had been set for the dialog); in the messengers, i still had access to the camera without a dialog.

"End session" (I tested it in a second profile) leads to the same behavior: Dialog in GoogleCamera and direct access to the camera in the messengers.

The situation is different for me when restarting: This leads to the dialog appearing again for all three apps tested.

Fhjgdfjj

Murcielago apologies, i tried restarting and it did ask again. Same as you, end session/closing the app does nothing, it'll just allow without asking.

[deleted]

A little off topic. I have developed a habit of disallowing camera and microphone for all apps. Whenever I need to use it, I activate it by tapping the quick toggle and as soon as I'm done, I turn it off again. It is by now almost a second nature to me. But because sometimes, very rarely, I forget to do that, I would welcome a time out on this permission similar to WiFi and Blueatooth, say 1 minute.

Murcielago

[deleted]

Good point, thanks for bringing it up - wasn't sure if it would fit in this post - but it's my approach too and maybe a helpful procedure for the OP as well:

I normally allow apps that need access to the camera or microphone access via "while using app."

However, microphone and camera access is always blocked. If needed, let's say microphone access for a voice message, i press record and a window "unblock device microphone/camera" conveniently pops up. I can then unblock the camera/micro. I then block it again via the quick settings (microphone and camera access have a prominent place there).

The timeout feature is really a neat idea!

[deleted]

Murcielago That's exactly what I meant. You just put the right words to it, thanks.

Fhjgdfjj

Murcielago Thanks for the suggestion. However, i almost always have camera access enabled just in case i need to quickly take a photo of something like a funny looking car that'll be out of sight in a few seconds

matchboxbananasynergy

Just to make sure we're all on the same page. How much time passes between granting one-time access and trying again, roughly?

Fhjgdfjj

matchboxbananasynergy Ok, I did some tests, with the 'ask every time' option selected, using Instagram and Whatsapp. Here are some observations:

The time is about 1m50s (starts when I close the camera and ends when I reopen the camera in the app) with the condition that the app has to relaunch instead of running in the background/on screen.

If within that time frame I open the camera, quit the app, and do it again within that time frame, i can repeat this forever and it'll never ask for permission.

Fhjgdfjj

GrapheneOS Thanks for your answer, appreciate the help.