page.title=Permissions page.tags=previewresources, androidm page.keywords=permissions, runtime, preview page.image=images/permissions_check.png @jd:body
Google I/O 2015—Android M Permissions: Best Practices for Developers
The M Developer Preview introduces a new app permissions model which streamlines the process for users to install and upgrade apps. If an app running on the M Preview supports the new permissions model, the user does not have to grant any permissions when they install or upgrade the app. Instead, the app requests permissions as it needs them, and the system shows a dialog to the user asking for the permission.
If an app supports the new permissions model, it can still be installed and run on devices running older versions of Android, using the old permissions model on those devices.
With the M Developer Preview, the platform introduces a new app permissions model. Here's a summary of the key components of this new model:
CONTACTS
permission group contains permissions to read and
write the user's contacts and profile information.
Limited Permissions Granted at Install Time: When the user installs or updates the app, the system grants the app all permissions listed in the manifest that fall under {@link android.content.pm.PermissionInfo#PROTECTION_NORMAL PROTECTION_NORMAL}. For example, alarm clock and internet permissions fall under {@link android.content.pm.PermissionInfo#PROTECTION_NORMAL PROTECTION_NORMAL}, so they are automatically granted at install time. For more information about how normal permissions are handled, see Normal Permissions.
The system may also grant the app signature permissions, as described in System components and signature permissions. The user is not prompted to grant any permissions at install time.
This permission model changes the way your app behaves for features that require permissions. Here's a summary of the development practices you should follow to adjust to this model:
Note: If an app targets the M Developer Preview, it must use the new permissions model.
As of the launch of the M Developer Preview, not all Google apps fully implement the new permissions model. Google is updating these apps over the course of the M Developer Preview to properly respect Permissions toggle settings.
Note: If your app has its own API surface, do not proxy permissions without first ensuring the caller has the requisite permissions to access that data.
Related permissions are divided into permission groups to allow users to grant related permissions to an app in a single action. The user only has to grant permission once per app for each permission group. If the app subsequently requests a permission from the same permission group, the system automatically grants the permission without any action from the user. The system calls your app's {@link android.app.Activity#onRequestPermissionsResult onRequestPermissionsResult()} method just as if the user had granted permission through the dialog box.
For example, suppose an app lists in its manifest that it needs the
SEND_SMS
and RECEIVE_SMS
permissions, which both
belong to android.permission-group.SMS
. When the app needs to
send a message, it requests the SEND_SMS
permission. The system
shows the user a dialog box asking if the app can have access to SMS. If the
user agrees, the system grants the app the SEND_SMS
permission it
requested. Later, the app requests RECEIVE_SMS
. The
system automatically grants this permission, since the user had already
approved a permission in the same permission group.
Ordinarily, when the user installs an app, the system only grants the app the permissions listed in the manifest that fall under {@link android.content.pm.PermissionInfo#PROTECTION_NORMAL PROTECTION_NORMAL}. However, under some circumstances the system grants the app more permissions:
If an app does not target the M Developer Preview, the app continues to use the old permissions model even on M Preview devices. When the user installs the app, the system asks the user to grant all permissions listed in the app's manifest.
Note: On devices running the M Developer Preview, a user can turn off permissions for any app (including legacy apps) from the app's Settings screen. If a user turns off permissions for a legacy app, the system silently disables the appropriate functionality. When the app attempts to perform an operation that requires that permission, the operation will not necessarily cause an exception. Instead, it might return an empty data set, signal an error, or otherwise exhibit unexpected behavior. For example, if you query a calendar without permission, the method returns an empty data set.
If you install an app using the new permissions model on a device that is not running the M Preview, the system treats it the same as any other app: the system asks the user to grant all declared permissions at install time.
Note: For the preview release, you must set the minimum SDK version to the M Preview SDK to compile with the preview SDK. This means you will not be able to test such apps on older platforms during the developer preview.
In many cases, you can choose between two ways for your app to perform a task. You can have your app ask for permission to perform the operation itself. Alternatively, you can have the app use an intent to have another app perform the task.
For example, suppose your app needs to be able to take pictures with the
device camera. Your app can request the
android.permission.CAMERA
permission, which allows your app to
access the camera directly. Your app would then use the camera APIs
to control the camera and take a picture. This approach gives your app full
control over the photography process, and lets you incorporate the camera UI
into your app.
However, if you don't need such control, you can just use an {@link android.provider.MediaStore#ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE} intent to request an image. When you start the intent, the user is prompted to choose a camera app (if there isn't already a default camera app), and that app takes the picture. The camera app returns the picture to your app's {@link android.app.Activity#onActivityResult onActivityResult()} method.
Similarly, if you need to make a phone call, access the user's contacts, and so on, you can do that by creating an appropriate intent, or you can request the permission and access the appropriate objects directly. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach.
If you use permissions:
If you use an intent:
If your app targets the new M Developer Preview, you must use the new permissions model. This means that in addition to declaring your needed permissions in the manifest, you must also check to see if you have the permissions at run time, and request the permissions if you do not already have them.
To enable the new M Developer Preview permissions model, set the app's
targetSdkVersion
attribute to "MNC"
, and
compileSdkVersion
to "android-MNC"
. Doing so
enables all the new permissions features.
For the preview release, you must set minSdkVersion
to
"MNC"
to compile with the preview SDK.
You can use the new <uses-permission-sdk-m>
element in the app manifest
to indicate that a permission is only needed on the M Developer Preview. If
you declare a permission this way, then whenever the app is installed on an
older device, the system does not prompt the user or grant the
permission to the app. By using the <uses-permission-sdk-m>
element, you can add new permissions
to updated versions of your app without forcing users to grant permissions
when they install the update.
If the app is running on a device with the M Developer Preview,
<uses-permission-sdk-m>
behaves the same as
<uses-permission>
.
The system does not prompt the user to grant any permissions when they install
the app, and the app requests permissions as they are needed.
If your app uses the new M Developer Preview permissions model, the user is not asked to grant all permissions when the app is first launched on a device running the M Preview. Instead, your app requests permissions as they are needed. When your app requests a permission, the system shows a dialog to the user.
If your app runs on a device that has SDK 22 or lower, the app uses the old
permissions model. When the user installs the app, they are prompted to grant
all the permissions your app requests in its manifest, except for those
permissions which are labeled with <uses-permission-sdk-m>
.
This permissions model is only supported on devices running the M Developer
Preview. Before calling any of these methods, the app should verify
what platform it's running on
by checking the value of {@link android.os.Build.VERSION#CODENAME
Build.VERSION.CODENAME}. If the device is running the M Developer Preview,
{@link android.os.Build.VERSION#CODENAME CODENAME} is "MNC"
.
Alternatively, you can use the new methods introduced with revision 23 of the v4 and v13 support libraries. The support library methods behave appropriately whether or not the app is running on the M Developer Preview. For more information, see Support library methods for handling permissions.
When the user tries to do something that requires a permission, the app
checks to see if it currently has permission to perform this operation. To do
this, the app calls {@link android.content.Context#checkSelfPermission
checkSelfPermission()}. The app should perform this check even if it knows
the user has already granted that permission, since the user can revoke an
app's permissions at any time. For example, if a user wants to use an app to
take a picture, the app calls
Context.checkSelfPermission(Manifest.permission.CAMERA)
.
Permission Group | Permissions |
---|---|
android.permission-group.CALENDAR |
|
android.permission-group.CAMERA |
|
android.permission-group.CONTACTS |
|
android.permission-group.LOCATION |
|
android.permission-group.MICROPHONE |
|
android.permission-group.PHONE |
|
android.permission-group.SENSORS |
|
android.permission-group.SMS |
|
android.permission-group.STORAGE
|
|
In some circumstances, you might want to help the user understand why your app needs a permission. For example, if a user launches a photography app, the user probably won't be surprised that the app asks for permission to use the camera. But if the user turns down that permission request, then launches the photography app again, that might indicate that the user needs some help understanding why the permission is needed.
To help find the situations where you need to provide extra explanation, the
system provides the {@link
android.app.Activity#shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale
shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale()} method. This method returns
true
if the app has requested this permission previously and the
user denied the request. That indicates that you should probably explain to
the user why you need the permission.
If the user turned down the permission request in the past and chose the
Don't ask again option in the permission request system dialog, this
method returns false
. The method also returns false
if the device policy prohibits the app from having that permission.
If the app doesn't already have the permission it needs, the app calls the {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()} method to request the appropriate permission or permissions. The app passes the permission or permissions it wants, and also an integer "request code". This method functions asynchronously: it returns right away, and after the user responds to the dialog box, the system calls the app's callback method with the results, passing the same "request code" that the app passed to {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()}.
The following code code checks if the app has permission to read the user's contacts, and requests the permission if necessary:
if (checkSelfPermission(Manifest.permission.READ_CONTACTS) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) { // Should we show an explanation? if (shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale( Manifest.permission.READ_CONTACTS)) { // Explain to the user why we need to read the contacts } requestPermissions(new String[]{Manifest.permission.READ_CONTACTS}, MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_READ_CONTACTS); // MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_READ_CONTACTS is an // app-defined int constant return; }
Note: When your app calls the framework's {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()} method, the system shows a standard dialog box to the user. Your app cannot configure or alter that dialog box. If you need to provide any information or explanation to the user, you should do that before you call {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()}, as described in Explain why the app needs permissions.
When an app requests permissions, the system presents a dialog box to the
user. When the user responds, the system invokes your app's {@link
android.app.Activity#onRequestPermissionsResult} passing it the user
response. Your app needs to override that method. The callback is passed the
same request code you passed to {@link
android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()}. For example,
if an app requests READ_CONTACTS
access it might have the
following callback method:
@Override public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, String permissions[], int[] grantResults) { switch (requestCode) { case MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_READ_CONTACTS: { if (grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) { // permission was granted, yay! do the // calendar task you need to do. } else { // permission denied, boo! Disable the // functionality that depends on this permission. } return; } // other 'switch' lines to check for other // permissions this app might request } }
If the user denies a permission request, your app should take appropriate action. For example, your app might show a dialog explaining why it could not perform the user's original request.
When the system asks the user to grant a permission, the user has the option of telling the system not to ask for that permission again. In that case, when an app uses {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()} to ask for that permission, the system immediately denies the request. In this case, the system calls your {@link android.app.Activity#onRequestPermissionsResult onRequestPermissionsResult()} the same way it would if the user had explicitly rejected your request again. For this reason, your app cannot assume that any direct interaction with the user has taken place.
If your app targets the M Developer Preview, you must test that it handles permissions properly. You cannot assume that your app has any particular permissions when it runs. When the app is first launched, it is likely to have no permissions, and the user can revoke or restore permissions at any time.
You should test your app to make sure it behaves properly under all permission situations. With the M Preview SDK, we have provided new Android Debug Bridge (adb) commands to enable you to test your app with whatever permissions settings you need to try.
The M Preview SDK Platform-tools provides several new commands to let you test how your app handles permissions.
You can use the adb
install
command's new -g
option, which installs the
app and grants all permissions listed in its manifest:
$ adb install -g <path_to_apk>
You can use new ADB package manager (pm) commands to grant and revoke permissions to an installed app. This functionality can be useful for automated testing.
To grant a permission, use the package manager's grant
command:
$ adb pm grant <package_name> <permission_name>
For example, to grant the com.example.myapp package permission to record audio, use this command:
$ adb pm grant com.example.myapp android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO
To revoke a permission, use the package manager's revoke
command:
$ adb pm revoke <package_name> <permission_name>
The new permissions model gives users a smoother experience, and makes it easier for them to install apps and feel comfortable with what the apps are doing. We recommend the following best practices to take full advantage of the new model.
Every time you ask for a permission, you force the user to make a decision. If the user turns down the request, that reduces your app's functionality. You should minimize the number of times you make these requests.
For example, quite often your app can get needed functionality by using an intent instead of asking for permissions. If your app needs to take pictures with the phone's camera, your app can use a {@link android.provider.MediaStore#ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE} intent. When your app executes the intent, the system prompts the user to choose an already-installed camera app to take the picture.
If you confront the user with a lot of requests for permissions at once, you may overwhelm the user and cause them to quit your app. Instead, you should ask for permissions as you need them.
In some cases, one or more permissions might be absolutely essential to your app. In that case, it might make sense to ask for all the permissions as soon as the app launches. For example, if you make a photography app, the app would need access to the device camera. When the user launches the app for the first time, they won't be surprised to be asked for permission to use the camera. But if the same app also had a feature to share photos with the user's contacts, you probably should not ask for that permission at first launch. Instead, wait until the user tries to use the "sharing" feature and ask for the permission then.
If your app provides a tutorial, it may make sense to request the app's essential permissions at the end of the tutorial sequence.
The permissions dialog shown by the system when you call {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()} says what permission your app wants, but doesn't say why. In some cases, the user may find that puzzling. It's a good idea to explain to the user why your app wants the permissions before calling {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()}.
For example, a photography app might want to use location services, so it can geotag the photos. A typical user might not understand that a photo can contain location information, and would be puzzled why their photography app wanted to know the location. So in this case, it's a good idea for the app to tell the user about this feature before calling {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()}.
One way to do this is to incorporate these requests into an app tutorial. The tutorial can show each of the app's features in turn, and as it does this, it can explain what permissions are needed. For example, the photography app's tutorial can demonstrate its "share photos with your contacts" feature, then tell the user that they need to give permission for the app to see the user's contacts. The app can then call {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()} to ask the user for that access. Of course, not every user is going to follow the tutorial, so you still need to check for and request permissions during the app's normal operation.
Revision 23 of the v4 and v13 support libraries provide several new methods for managing permissions. The support library methods work properly on any device that can use those libraries. Thus, if you use the support library methods, you do not need to check whether your app is running on a device with the M Developer Preview. If an app is installed on a device running the M Preview, the support library methods behave the same as their framework equivalents. If the device is running an earlier version of Android, the methods behave appropriately, as described below.
The v4 support library provides the following permissions methods:
false
.
The v4 support library also contains the {@link android.support.v4.content.PermissionChecker} class, which provides several static utility methods for apps that use IPC to provide services for other apps. For example, {@link android.support.v4.content.PermissionChecker#checkCallingPermission PermissionChecker.checkCallingPermission()} checks whether an IPC made by a particular package has a specified permission.
Note: If your app acts on behalf of third-party apps to call platform methods that require runtime permissions on behalf of a third-party app, you should use the appropriate {@link android.support.v4.content.PermissionChecker} methods to ensure that the other app is allowed to perform the operation. The platform has a compatibility mode that allows users to revoke a legacy app's access to permission-protected methods. If the user revokes access in compatibility mode the app's permissions are not actually revoked; instead, access to the APIs is restricted. The {@link android.support.v4.content.PermissionChecker} methods verify app permissions in both normal and legacy modes.
The v13 support library provides the following permissions methods:
FragmentCompat.OnRequestPermissionsResultCallback
.
Passes {@link android.content.pm.PackageManager#PERMISSION_GRANTED
PERMISSION_GRANTED} if the app already has the specified permission, or
{@link android.content.pm.PackageManager#PERMISSION_DENIED
PERMISSION_DENIED} if it does not.
false
.
Many permissions are designated as {@link android.content.pm.PermissionInfo#PROTECTION_NORMAL PROTECTION_NORMAL}, which indicates that there's no great risk to the user's privacy or security in letting apps have those permissions. For example, users would reasonably want to know whether an app can read their contact information, so users have to grant this permission explicitly. By contrast, there's no great risk in allowing an app to vibrate the device, so that permission is designated as normal.
If an app declares in its manifest that it needs a normal permission, the system automatically grants the app that permission at install time. The system does not prompt the user to grant normal permissions, and users cannot revoke these permissions.
If your app declares that it needs normal permissions, the app does not need to call {@link android.content.Context#checkSelfPermission checkSelfPermission()} or {@link android.app.Activity#requestPermissions requestPermissions()} for those permissions. Since you declared the permissions in the manifest, you can be sure your app was granted those permissions at install time.
Currently, the following permissions are classified as {@link android.content.pm.PermissionInfo#PROTECTION_NORMAL PROTECTION_NORMAL}:
android.permission.ACCESS_LOCATION_EXTRA_COMMANDS
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
android.permission.ACCESS_NOTIFICATION_POLICY
android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE
android.permission.ACCESS_WIMAX_STATE
android.permission.BLUETOOTH
android.permission.BLUETOOTH_ADMIN
android.permission.BROADCAST_STICKY
android.permission.CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE
android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE
android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE
android.permission.CHANGE_WIMAX_STATE
android.permission.DISABLE_KEYGUARD
android.permission.EXPAND_STATUS_BAR
android.permission.FLASHLIGHT
android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS
android.permission.GET_PACKAGE_SIZE
android.permission.INTERNET
android.permission.KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES
android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS
android.permission.NFC
android.permission.READ_SYNC_SETTINGS
android.permission.READ_SYNC_STATS
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
android.permission.REORDER_TASKS
android.permission.REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES
android.permission.SET_TIME_ZONE
android.permission.SET_WALLPAPER
android.permission.SET_WALLPAPER_HINTS
android.permission.SUBSCRIBED_FEEDS_READ
android.permission.TRANSMIT_IR
android.permission.USE_FINGERPRINT
android.permission.VIBRATE
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK
android.permission.WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS
com.android.alarm.permission.SET_ALARM
com.android.launcher.permission.INSTALL_SHORTCUT
com.android.launcher.permission.UNINSTALL_SHORTCUT