Every Android phone owner must check settings – someone may be watching

APPS have access to all sorts on your phone but thankfully you can control most of it.

Many of them will probably have a perfectly legitimate reason to request access to a certain part of your phone.

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For example, WhatsApp needs permission to access your contacts in order to find friends and allow you to message them.

But others may request things that leave you scratching your head a little.

For example, why on Earth does a photo editing app need to know my location?

Android allows you to see and control the permissions that apps on your smartphone have – here’s how.

What types of app permissions are there?

There are loads of features apps can request permission for.

Some may not be relevant to your phone – like body sensors, which will be on wearable devices instead.

• Body sensors
• Calendar
• Call logs
• Camera
• Contacts
• Location
• Microphone
• Nearby Bluetooth devices
• Phone
• Physical activity
• SMS
• Storage
• Files and media

How to see what permissions an app wants

An app should send you a notification asking for permission to use a phone feature.

This will give you a chance to allow or deny it.

You can also see what permissions an app wants before downloading it, by looking through the description on the app’s Google Play Store page.

It’s possible to change permissions after you’ve installed an app if you like, following the instructions below.

How to change app permissions on Android

To change an app’s permissions from an Android phone, first open Settings then look for Apps.

Select the app you want to adjust – you might have to tap See all apps if you can’t spot the one you’re after.

Next, go to Permissions.

Tap any permissions you don’t like the look of and switch it to Don’t allow.

For location, camera and microphone, the options may be different.

As well as Don’t allow, there’s also Allow only while using the app and Ask every time.

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