I don’t think that we were all talking about the same thing.
I don’t know well the terminology, and it is confusing for me. For instance, I don’t know if UICC carrier privileges are only about SIM applets (UICC applets, which are Java Cards), which seems to be what is described by @Dboy and me.
Also, I don’t know if what @GrapheneOS described here is what I’m observing (Swiss MSS Mobile ID applet) on my side, but if it’s the case, Swiss operators are going against the grain since Mobile ID doesn’t seem like a legacy thing being phased out at all.
Adoption timeline: https://www.mobileid.ch/en/about-us
Most operators (the three major ones that own the antennas, and many MVNOs) do implement this service, provided by Swisscom, in their SIM cards: https://www.mobileid.ch/en
I’m not sure we can say an operator is being intrusive based on what has been observed here.
The app icon appearing in the app drawer seems to be simply a link to manage or interact in some way with the settings or some features of the applet. In my case, it’s simply to change language, and I can end the session via the three dots menu.
@Dboy What’s the following menu when you tap on Servicios Orange?
However, it doesn’t seem possible to see the permissions of a SIM applet. The App info from the icon visible in the app drawer is just a link for the App info of the whole SIM Toolkit app, which is always included in GrapheneOS.
Regarding the allowed permissions of the said SIM Toolkit app, it doesn’t seem to be influenced by the presence of a SIM applet.
@de0u I understand you have no icon in the app drawer, but do you have the SIM Toolkit under Settings→ Apps? If yes, are you saying it has no allowed permissions?
I do not understand @wizoatk having only two permissions for it… or it depends on the model’s number of the phone.
What I observed is that a Pixel 8 and a Pixel 9a have 11 allowed permissions (including Camera) for the SIM Toolkit, while a Pixel 7a has 10 allowed permissions (no Camera).
As previously explained, I compared a Pixel 8 and 7a with each a SIM card from the same operator.
Now, physically removing the SIM cards (and restarting) didn’t change anything regarding SIM Toolkit allowed permissions. Neither did switching the SIM cards between the two devices. My Pixel 8 still has 11 permissions, and the Pixel 7a still has 10 permissions.
It appears to me that permissions are model-dependent, and have nothing to do with SIM cards.
Moreover, I conjecture that not having an icon in the app drawer is not the proof that a given SIM card does not have any additional applets. Perhaps the user-facing menu is totally optional for Java Cards.
Am I talking nonsense here?