Understanding Android Permission Management Mechanism
How Does Android’s Permission Management Mechanism Work?
Android’s permission management mechanism is a multi-level, multi-tiered system designed to protect user data and device security while allowing applications to access necessary system resources. Here are the key aspects of Android’s permission management mechanism:
Permission Categories:
- Dangerous Permissions: These permissions may affect user privacy or device security, such as accessing user location, contacts, SMS, etc. Applications must request these permissions during installation, and users can grant or deny them during installation or in app settings.
- Normal Permissions: These permissions pose lower risks to user privacy and device security, such as accessing network or vibrating the device. Applications can automatically obtain these permissions at runtime without explicit user authorization.
Permission Declaration:
- Developers declare required permissions in the application’s
AndroidManifest.xmlfile.
- Developers declare required permissions in the application’s
Permission Request:
- For dangerous permissions, applications need to dynamically request user authorization at runtime, which can be implemented through the
Activity‘srequestPermissionsmethod.
- For dangerous permissions, applications need to dynamically request user authorization at runtime, which can be implemented through the
Permission Check:
- Applications can check if they have specific permissions at runtime using the
ContextCompat.checkSelfPermissionmethod.
- Applications can check if they have specific permissions at runtime using the
Permission Updates:
- Users can modify application permissions in system settings at any time.
Permission Groups:
- Android 6.0 (API level 23) introduced the concept of permission groups, where applications can only request permissions belonging to the same permission group.
Permission Revocation:
- Users can revoke granted permissions at any time, and applications need to handle permission revocation scenarios.
Permission Adaptation:
- Applications need to adapt to permission management mechanisms of different Android versions, especially for dynamic permission requests in Android 6.0 and above.
Background Permission Restrictions:
- Starting from Android 10 (API level 29), more restrictions have been placed on permissions for background applications to protect user privacy.
Permission Policies:
- Google Play Store and Android system may impose additional policies and restrictions on application permission requests.
This mechanism ensures users have control over their data while providing applications with necessary system resource access permissions to implement their functionality. As Android versions update, the permission management mechanism continues to evolve to better protect user privacy and device security.