So I have a question about all the Permissions that are set by default. I was wondering are any of these mandatory? Are there criteria that explain the permissions? I have a very simply app that just somewhat mimics my business website. Give info of the company, it does have some forms that people fill out but nothing that involved or include critical personal information. I was wondering if I need to have all those permissions set and if not how do I disable them? Thanks in advance, Howard

Great Question. Complex answer, depending on what in particular you're speaking of… If you're talking about 'Android' permissions, such as those thrown at the user when they first launch your app, those are handled in your AndroidManifest.xml file. You'll see a bunch of them looking like this: <!-- required device permissions --> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_CONTACTS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS" /> So… Most of my apps don't need the camera. I can cut that out. Also, I don't do much with contacts. I can kill those off too. If your app doesn't use GPS, you can kill the "COARSE" and "FINE" location statements. Anything you use, keep. anything you don't use, you can throw away. Research the capabilities of each 'permission' and decide if your app needs it. If it doesn't, you can safely remove it. But also keep in mind that if you change your mind and add some GPS capability, you may need to submit an update with a corrected AndroidManifest.xml file "if" you deleted a needed permission. Hope this helps! Cheers! -- Smug

Hi Howard, You can remove any of the permissions that your app doesn't require. For yours, the camera permission is one that you could probably remove. If your app doesn't use that functionality, it's likely safe to remove (but make sure you test the install, of course!). Some good candidates for removal: (If you're not using GPS) <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_CONTACTS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" /> Mark

Lol Mark! Great minds… :) Cheers! -- Smug

Simultaneous posts...I love it! Mark

I love it too! Thanks guys. Since I do use the camera for the BarCode Plug-in I assume that is considered using it? Also instead of deleting them, can I line them out so, if I do need them in the future I can just re-activate them? Thanks again and especially for the quick response. Howard