Google Play Store - Question regarding the "All permissions" menu

FreakyFreddy

When i go to the App permissions for Google Play Store i only have "Network", "Notifications" and "Sensors" set to Allowed

But when i click the three dots on the upper right and go into the sub-menu "All permissions" it shows me a whole list of all types of permissions.

It shows things like "record audio", "read phone status and identity", "read text messages", etc

I assume that this is just a list of all the permissions the app could request and use, and they're not all actually activated?

For example, if i don't give GOS the "Phone" permission can it still see my phone number?

AcclaimSublevel19

FreakyFreddy as far as I know, that menu gives you more details on the access each permission grants (and I guess there may be some implicit ones too), so I think you're correct. It wouldn't make sense for all those to be activated if you haven't granted the permissions. You can try granting a permission to an app and checking the list for any chrnges, which should prove it's not a list of everything the app currently has access to.

FreakyFreddy For example, if i don't give GOS the "Phone" permission can it still see my phone number?

GOS is the OS and can access everything, so I'll assume you mean Google Play Services/Play Store. No, they cannot access your phone number or have any other privileges unless you've explicitly granted them.

userofgos

FreakyFreddy But when i click the three dots on the upper right and go into the sub-menu "All permissions" it shows me a whole list of all types of permissions.

See: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/14183-what-are-those-hidden-permissions-about-view-all-permissions/2

GrapheneOS: That's not a list of granted permissions but rather the list of low-level requested permissions. You're misinterpreting it as being what's granted to the app but it isn't. You control what's granted to the app via the standard disabled by default permission toggles, special access permission toggles, power optimization toggles, etc. Those low-level permissions are divided up into these standard toggles, and the sensitive ones are disabled by default. Many of the low-level permissions use a case-by-case access granting system instead of having persistent toggles at all. The user interface for showing the full list of low-level requested permissions is highly flawed, but at least it's not as bad as it used to be since they're sorted into groups for the main standard permission toggles. They aren't sorted into groups for special access permissions or marked as requiring case-by-case consent so it's still very misleading info. Suggest that you simply stop looking at this highly misleading low-level info which shows what apps can request, not what they request in practice and definitely not what they are granted.

Sensors and Network are added toggles in GrapheneOS so they're enabled by default but Network is shown as a prompt at install time and Sensors can be set as disabled by default for newly installed apps with a toggle. Sensors and Network enabled by default to avoid making using the OS harder to use than Android for new users because apps would be broken without them with users not knowing why, although we do make a notification about Sensors access when it's disabled which we can't do for Network.

FreakyFreddy

AcclaimSublevel19 I'll assume you mean Google Play Services/Play Store.

Yes thats what i meant😅

AcclaimSublevel19 No, they cannot access your phone number or have any other privileges unless you've explicitly granted them.

Good to hear! Thanks

FreakyFreddy

userofgos

Thank you, that clears it up!

I tried googling it for a while but that post didn't come up

Have a nice day