RainCleanerCleans, explains, hides nothing.
Discord
Download for Windows
Rain Wiki · Android

App permissions on Android

How Android runtime permissions work, how to review them per app or per permission, and what 'only while using the app' means.

Android · Rain Wiki

Android app permissions control which protected data and features an app may use, such as location, camera, microphone, contacts and photos. Sensitive ones are runtime permissions: the app must ask, and you can allow them all the time, only while using the app, ask every time, or deny, and change the choice later in Settings.

Reviewing permissions

Per app: Settings > Apps > select the app > Permissions. Per permission: Settings > Security & privacy > Privacy > Permission manager (names vary), which lists which apps can use location, camera and so on.

Choices

'Allow only while using the app' keeps access to when the app is on screen. 'Ask every time' grants it for one session. Location can also be limited to approximate instead of precise.

Unused apps

Android can remove permissions from apps you have not used for a few months; the option is on the app's info page.

How to audit permissions

  1. Open Settings and search for 'Permission manager'.
  2. Open Location, Camera and Microphone in turn.
  3. Change apps that do not need them to 'Don't allow' or 'Ask every time'.
  4. Check the Privacy dashboard to see which apps used them recently.

Cautions

  • Removing a permission an app needs can break a feature; the app asks again when you use it.
  • Accessibility and device admin access are separate, more powerful permissions: grant them only to apps you trust.

Sources

Last updated: 2026-10-08

Related articles