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      Permissions
      • 13 Jul 2023
      • 2 Minutes to read
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      Contents

      Permissions

      • Updated on 13 Jul 2023
      • 2 Minutes to read
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      Article summary

      Overview

      The purpose of permission is to protect the privacy of an Android user. Android apps must request permission to access sensitive user data (such as contacts and SMS), as well as certain system features (such as camera and internet). Depending on the feature, the system might grant the permission automatically or might prompt the user to approve the request.

      A central design point of the Android security architecture is that no app, by default, has permission to perform any operations that would adversely impact other apps, the operating system, or the user. This includes reading or writing the user's private data (such as contacts or emails), reading or writing another app's files, performing network access, keeping the device awake, and soon.

      Restricted permissions

      Restricted permissions cover areas where the app wants data or resources that involve the user's private information, or could potentially affect the user's stored data or the operation of other apps. We consider these permissions dangerous for our device as well as user data. For example, the ability to read the user's contacts is a dangerous permission.

      If a user wants any of the permissions restricted by pcloudy, then he/she will have to contact our technical support team and they will decide if they can grant the permission based on the reason provided by the user. Until our support executive approves the permission, the user should not use the functionality that depends on that permission.

      We keep updating this list of permissions from time to time, so users can revisit this page to get the revised list.

      Permissions and their descriptions

      Sl. No.PermissionDescription
      1.android.permission.DIAGNOSTICAllows the app to read and write to any resource owned by the diag group. For example: files in /dev. This could potentially affect system stability and security. This should be only be used for hardware-specific diagnostics by the manufacturer or operator.
      2.android.permission.ACCESS_CACHE_FILESYSTEMAllows an application to read and write the cache file system.
      3.android.permission.ACCESS_MTK_MMHWIt is used to access fm radio chip. MTK refers to MediaTek, which is a manufacturer of electronic chips.
      4.android.permission.REBOOT_IPOUsed for rebooting the device.
      5.android.permission.DELETE_CACHE_FILESDELETE_CACHE_FILES is a signature system permission, meaning that it can only be held by apps that are signed with the firmware's signing key or are installed on the system partition (e.g., by a rooted device user). Ordinary SDK applications cannot hold this permission.
      6.android.permission.MOUNT_UNMOUNT_FILESYSTEMSAllows the app to mount and unmount file systems for removable storage.
      7.android.permission.BROADCAST_PACKAGE_REMOVEDAllows the app to broadcast a notification that an app package has been removed. Malicious apps may use this to kill any other running app.
      8.android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSERACCESS_SUPERUSER is a permission declared by the Super user app by which user have full control on device he can root the device and can perform malicious activity inside the device which could be dangerous for the devices as well as user data.
      9.android.permission.CHANGE_CONFIGURATIONAllows the app to change the current configuration, such as the locale or overall font size. Protection level: signature

      Reference links:

      https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest

      https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission

      https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission_group

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