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# App-ops

App-ops are used for two purposes: Access control and tracking.

App-ops cover a wide variety of functionality from helping with runtime permissions to battery
consumption tracking.

App-ops are defined in `AppOpsManager` as `OP_...` and need to be continuously numbered. The
integer values of the app-ops are not exposed. For app-ops visible to 3rd party apps,
the name of the app-op might be exposed as `OPSTR_`. As the integers are not part of the API, they
might (and have) changed between platform versions and OEM implementations.
`AppOpsManager.opToPublicName` and `AppOpsManager.strOpToOp` allow for conversion between integer
and string identifier for the op.

## App-ops as access restrictions

App-ops can either be controlled for each [uid](../os/Users.md#int-uid) or for each package. Which
one is used depends on the API provider maintaining this app-op.

For any security or privacy related app-ops the provider needs to control the app-op per uid
as all security and privacy is based on uid in Android.

App-op used for non-security related tasks are usually controlled per package to provide finer
granularity.

### Setting the app-op mode

To control access the app-op can be set to:

`MODE_DEFAULT`
: Default behavior, might differ from app-op to app-op

`MODE_ALLOWED`
: Allow the access

`MODE_FOREGROUND`
: Allow the access but only if the app is currently in the [foreground](#foreground)

`MODE_IGNORED`
: Don't allow the access, i.e. don't perform the requested action or return dummy data

`MODE_ERRORED`
: Throw a `SecurityException` on access. This can be suppressed by using a `...noThrow` method to
check the mode

The initial state of an app-op is defined in `AppOpsManager.sOpDefaultMode`. Confusingly the
initial state is often not `MODE_DEFAULT`

Per-package modes can be set using `AppOpsManager.setMode` and per-uid modes can be set using
`AppOpsManager.setUidMode`.

**Warning**: Do not use `setMode` and `setUidMode` for the same app-op. Due to the way the
internal storage for the mode works this can lead to very confusing behavior. If this ever happened
by accident this needs to be cleaned up for any affected user as the app-op mode is retained over
reboot.

App-ops can also be set via the shell using the `appops set` command. The target package/uid can be
defined via parameters to this command.

The current state of the app-op can be read via the `appops get` command or via `dumpsys appops`.
If the app-op is not mentioned in the output the app-op is in it's initial state.

For example `dumpsys appops`:
```
[...]
  Uid 2000:
    [...]
      COARSE_LOCATION: mode=foreground
      START_FOREGROUND: mode=foreground
      LEGACY_STORAGE: mode=ignore
    [...]
```

### Guarding access based on app-ops

API providers need to check the mode returned by `AppOpsManager.noteOp` if they are are allowing
access to operations gated by the app-op. `AppOpsManager.unsafeCheckOp` should be used to check the
mode if no access is granted. E.g. this can be for displaying app-op state in the UI or when
checking the state before later calling `noteOp` anyway.

If an operation refers to a time span (e.g. a audio-recording session) the API provider should
use `AppOpsManager.startOp` and `AppOpsManager.finishOp` instead of `noteOp`.

`noteOp` and `startOp` take a `packageName` and `featureId` parameter. These need to be read from
the calling apps context as `Context.getOpPackageName` and `Context.getFeatureId`, then send to
the data provider and then passed on the `noteOp`/`startOp` method.

#### App-ops and permissions

Access guarding is often done in combination with permissions using [runtime permissions
](../permission/Permissions.md#runtime-permissions-and-app-ops) or [app-op permissions
](../permission/Permissions.md#app-op-permissions). This is preferred over just using an app-op
 as permissions a concept more familiar to app developers.

### Foreground

The `AppOpsService` tracks the apps' proc state (== foreground-ness) by following the
`ActivityManagerService`'s proc state. It reduces the possible proc states to only those needed
for app-ops. It also delays the changes by a _settle time_. This delay is needed as the proc state
can fluctuate when switching apps. By delaying the change the appops service is not affected by
those.

In addition to proc state, the `AppOpsService` also receives process capability update from the
`ActivityManagerService`. Proc capability specifies what while-in-use(`MODE_FOREGROUND`) operations
 the proc is allowed to perform in its current proc state. There are three proc capabilities
 defined so far: 
`PROCESS_CAPABILITY_FOREGROUND_LOCATION`, `PROCESS_CAPABILITY_FOREGROUND_CAMERA` and
`PROCESS_CAPABILITY_FOREGROUND_MICROPHONE`, they correspond to the while-in-use operation of
location, camera and microphone (microphone is `RECORD_AUDIO`).

In `ActivityManagerService`, `PROCESS_STATE_TOP` and `PROCESS_STATE_PERSISTENT` have all
three capabilities, `PROCESS_STATE_FOREGROUND_SERVICE` has capabilities defined by
 `foregroundServiceType` that is specified in foreground service's manifest file. A client process 
 can pass its capabilities to service using `BIND_INCLUDE_CAPABILITIES` flag.

The proc state and capability are used for two use cases: Firstly, Tracking remembers the proc state
 for each tracked event. Secondly, `noteOp`/`checkOp` calls for app-op that are set to
 `MODE_FOREGROUND` are translated using the `AppOpsService.UidState.evalMode` method into
 `MODE_ALLOWED` when the app has the capability and `MODE_IGNORED` when the app does not have the 
 capability. `checkOpRaw` calls are not affected.

The current proc state and capability for an app can be read from `dumpsys appops`.
The tracking information can be read from `dumpsys appops`

```
Uid u0a118:
  state=fg
  capability=6
```

## App-ops for tracking

App-ops track many important events, including all accesses to runtime permission protected
APIs. This is done by tracking when an app-op was noted or started. The tracked data can only be
read by system components.

**Note:** Only `noteOp`/`startOp` calls are tracked; `unsafeCheckOp` is not tracked. Hence it is
important to eventually call `noteOp` or `startOp` when providing access to protected operations
or data.

Some apps are forwarding access to other apps. E.g. an app might get the location from the
system's location provider and then send the location further to a 3rd app. In this case the
app passing on the data needs to call `AppOpsManager.noteProxyOp` to signal the access proxying.
This might also make sense inside of a single app if the access is forwarded between two features of
the app. In this case an app-op is noted for the forwarding app (proxy) and the app that received
the data (proxied). As any app can do it is important to track how much the system trusts this
proxy-access-tracking. For more details see `AppOpService.noteProxyOperation`.

The tracking information can be read from `dumpsys appops` split by feature, proc state and
proxying information with the syntax

```
Package THE_PACKAGE_NAME:
  AN_APP_OP (CURRENT_MODE):
    FEATURE_ID (or null for default feature)=[
      ACCESS_OR_REJECT: [PROC_STATE-PROXYING_TAG] TIME proxy[INFO_ABOUT_PROXY IF_PROXY_ACCESS]
```

Example:

```
Package com.google.android.gms:
  READ_CONTACTS (allow):
    null=[
      Access: [fgsvc-s] 2020-02-14 14:24:10.559 (-3d23h15m43s642ms)
      Access: [fgsvc-tp] 2020-02-14 14:23:58.189 (-3d23h15m56s12ms)
    ]
    apkappcontext=[
      Access: [fg-tp] 2020-02-17 14:24:54.721 (-23h14m59s480ms)
    ]
    com.google.android.gms.icing=[
      Access: [fgsvc-tpd] 2020-02-14 14:26:27.018 (-3d23h13m27s183ms) proxy[uid=10070, pkg=com.android.providers.contacts, feature=null]
      Access: [fg-tpd] 2020-02-18 02:26:08.711 (-11h13m45s490ms) proxy[uid=10070, pkg=com.android.providers.contacts, feature=null]
      Access: [bg-tpd] 2020-02-14 14:34:55.310 (-3d23h4m58s891ms) proxy[uid=10070, pkg=com.android.providers.contacts, feature=null]
    ]
  MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (default):
    null=[
      Reject: [fg-s]2020-02-18 08:00:04.444 (-5h39m49s757ms)
      Reject: [bg-s]2020-02-18 08:00:04.427 (-5h39m49s774ms)
    ]
```

### Tracking an app's own private data accesses

An app can register an `AppOpsManager.OnOpNotedCallback` to get informed about what accesses the
system is tracking for it. As each runtime permission has an associated app-op this API is
particularly useful for an app that want to find unexpected private data accesses.

## Listening to app-op events

System apps (with the appropriate permissions) can listen to most app-op events, such as

`noteOp`
: `startWatchingNoted`

`startOp`/`finishOp`
: `startWatchingActive`

mode changes
: `startWatchingMode`

[foreground](#foreground)-ness changes
: `startWatchingMode` using the `WATCH_FOREGROUND_CHANGES` flag

Watching such events is only ever as good as the tracked events. E.g. if the audio provider does
not call `startOp` for a audio-session, the app's activeness for the record-audio app-op is not
changed. Further there were cases where app-ops were noted even though no data was accessed or
operation was performed. Hence before relying on the data from app-ops, double check if the data
is actually reliable.