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Play Protect removing permissions on old apps
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VanguardLH
Mar 21, 2022, 2:49:47 PM3/21/22
to
First time I hit this. Got a notification which, when opened, said Play
Protect permissions from 3 apps that had not been used in 3 months. I
tapped on the notification to go into the Play Protect app, scrolled
down, and found the "Removing permissions for unused apps" which said:
To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
3 months will be removed.
I don't care how long it has been since I last used an app. Some apps
won't get used for many months, if not years, between uses. For
example, I have 2 apps that interface with the ODB2 dongle that I only
plug in when diagnosing a problem, like the "Check engine" light came
on. I maybe visit those apps about once a year, or for a lot longer. I
don't permissions removed from any app based solely how long it has been
unused.
When I clicked on "See apps", no apps were listed. Either Play Protect
removed permissions but isn't listing them anymore, or it said it was
going to remove permissions but didn't. On the same screen showing "See
apps", there's a note saying there was "1 security notification", but no
way for me to see was was that announcement.
There are some behaviors I want from Play Protect, like it scanning apps
on download and install, and periodically scanning apps (the schedule is
not configurable). I can enable/disable that feature, but that looks to
disable Play Protect altogether. The "App privacy" option is not a
toggle to let me enable/disable that feature. Tapping that section of
the settings just takes me to the prior mentioned screen of which apps
have had permissions removed but is empty.
I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps. Guess I'll
have to disable Play Protect altogether. However, that also means
losing the protection by Google when it removes apps that violate
Google's developer rules regarding behavior or permissions by apps that
are discovered later and won't be found by anti-virus software (because
the violation is of policy, not of untoward behavior discoverable by an
AV).
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2812853
https://www.google.com/about/unwanted-software-policy.html
I'd like to keep Play Protect enabled, but not have it automatically
removing permissions on old unused apps. Just tell which apps it
doesn't like, and *I* will review the permissions on those.
This isn't about Play Protect protecting me from malicious or untoward
apps deemed such by Google. This about Play Protect saying it will
remove permissions from apps that haven't been used for a long time.
Just because an app has not been used for a long does NOT mean I want
its previously granted permissions denied.
Google to reset app permissions on unused Android-apps
https://www.techzine.eu/news/workplace/65740/google-to-reset-app-permissions-on-unused-android-apps/
That article is dated 2021-Sep-20 (6 months ago) announcing the change
will appear in older Android versions in December 2021 (I'm using
Android 8). This is the first time I've seen the notifications saying
Play Protect would reset permissions on old unused apps; however, at the
time Google would've updated Play Protect to add this new "feature",
there would've already been apps that I had not used for a lot longer
than 3 months.
The article says I can go into each app (oh joy, a highly repetitious
routine) to configure its Permissions setting to turn off the "Remove
permissions if app isn't used" option. Not there whan I looked. Maybe
that option is available in Android 11 or 12, but not in earlier Android
versions as the author declared. It would be a workaround but a
nuisance to implement by having to go to each app to disable the option.
Too bad Google didn't bother to add this option to their Play Protect
app, so the feature could be globally disabled across all apps.
To disable, or not to disable. That is the question. Whether tis
nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune, or ...
Protect permissions from 3 apps that had not been used in 3 months. I
tapped on the notification to go into the Play Protect app, scrolled
down, and found the "Removing permissions for unused apps" which said:
To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
3 months will be removed.
I don't care how long it has been since I last used an app. Some apps
won't get used for many months, if not years, between uses. For
example, I have 2 apps that interface with the ODB2 dongle that I only
plug in when diagnosing a problem, like the "Check engine" light came
on. I maybe visit those apps about once a year, or for a lot longer. I
don't permissions removed from any app based solely how long it has been
unused.
When I clicked on "See apps", no apps were listed. Either Play Protect
removed permissions but isn't listing them anymore, or it said it was
going to remove permissions but didn't. On the same screen showing "See
apps", there's a note saying there was "1 security notification", but no
way for me to see was was that announcement.
There are some behaviors I want from Play Protect, like it scanning apps
on download and install, and periodically scanning apps (the schedule is
not configurable). I can enable/disable that feature, but that looks to
disable Play Protect altogether. The "App privacy" option is not a
toggle to let me enable/disable that feature. Tapping that section of
the settings just takes me to the prior mentioned screen of which apps
have had permissions removed but is empty.
I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps. Guess I'll
have to disable Play Protect altogether. However, that also means
losing the protection by Google when it removes apps that violate
Google's developer rules regarding behavior or permissions by apps that
are discovered later and won't be found by anti-virus software (because
the violation is of policy, not of untoward behavior discoverable by an
AV).
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2812853
https://www.google.com/about/unwanted-software-policy.html
I'd like to keep Play Protect enabled, but not have it automatically
removing permissions on old unused apps. Just tell which apps it
doesn't like, and *I* will review the permissions on those.
This isn't about Play Protect protecting me from malicious or untoward
apps deemed such by Google. This about Play Protect saying it will
remove permissions from apps that haven't been used for a long time.
Just because an app has not been used for a long does NOT mean I want
its previously granted permissions denied.
Google to reset app permissions on unused Android-apps
https://www.techzine.eu/news/workplace/65740/google-to-reset-app-permissions-on-unused-android-apps/
That article is dated 2021-Sep-20 (6 months ago) announcing the change
will appear in older Android versions in December 2021 (I'm using
Android 8). This is the first time I've seen the notifications saying
Play Protect would reset permissions on old unused apps; however, at the
time Google would've updated Play Protect to add this new "feature",
there would've already been apps that I had not used for a lot longer
than 3 months.
The article says I can go into each app (oh joy, a highly repetitious
routine) to configure its Permissions setting to turn off the "Remove
permissions if app isn't used" option. Not there whan I looked. Maybe
that option is available in Android 11 or 12, but not in earlier Android
versions as the author declared. It would be a workaround but a
nuisance to implement by having to go to each app to disable the option.
Too bad Google didn't bother to add this option to their Play Protect
app, so the feature could be globally disabled across all apps.
To disable, or not to disable. That is the question. Whether tis
nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune, or ...
VanguardLH
Mar 21, 2022, 3:14:12 PM3/21/22
to
VanguardLH wrote:
Corrections:
> Got a notification which, when opened, said Play Protect permissions
> from 3 apps
Play Protect removed permissions
^^^^^^^
> I have 2 apps that interface with the OBD2 dongle
I have 2 apps that interface with the OBD2 dongle
^^^^
> a note saying there was "1 security notification", but no way for me
> to see was was that announcement.
but no way for me to see what was that announcement
^^^^
Corrections:
> Got a notification which, when opened, said Play Protect permissions
> from 3 apps
^^^^^^^
> I have 2 apps that interface with the OBD2 dongle
I have 2 apps that interface with the OBD2 dongle
^^^^
> a note saying there was "1 security notification", but no way for me
> to see was was that announcement.
^^^^
Andy Burns
Mar 21, 2022, 3:48:01 PM3/21/22
to
VanguardLH wrote:
> I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
> candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
> the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps.
You can't control how long it waits for unused perms, but per app you can tell
> I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
> candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
> the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps.
it not to disable them ...
settings/apps/all apps/unused apps/remove perms and free up space
Frank Slootweg
Mar 21, 2022, 4:50:46 PM3/21/22
to
Andy Burns <use...@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> VanguardLH wrote:
>
> > I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
> > candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
> > the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps.
>
> You can't control how long it waits for unused perms, but per app you
> can tell it not to disable them ...
Well, as always, that depends on your Android version and 'who'
> VanguardLH wrote:
>
> > I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
> > candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
> > the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps.
>
> You can't control how long it waits for unused perms, but per app you
> can tell it not to disable them ...
supplied that! :-(
For example my Samsung Galaxy A51 smartphone with Android 11 does not
have this:
> settings/apps/all apps/unused apps/remove perms and free up space
Also in my case the "per app you can tell it not to disable them" part
is not quite true, because for some apps I can - i.e. there is an on/off
switch -, but for others I can't, because there's no switch, no idea why
not.
FWIW, my Settings path is -> Apps -> <select_app> -> Permissions ->
Remove permissions if app isn't used <on/off switch>
BTW, on my phone I can see which apps have their permissions removed
and which ones, so it's not too difficult to restore them:
Settings -> Privacy -> Permission manager -> (at the top it says:)
"(i) Permissions removed for unused apps
Some apps haven't been used in a few months"
Tapping that message gives a list of apps 'LAST OPENED MORE THAN 3
MONTHS AGO' noting per app which permissions were removed. (In my case
only one local/NL specific app with one removed permission.)
Andy Burns
Mar 21, 2022, 5:05:27 PM3/21/22
to
Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Well, as always, that depends on your Android version and 'who'
> supplied that!:-(
You might have twigged by now that I use android 12 on a pixel 3 straight from
> Well, as always, that depends on your Android version and 'who'
> supplied that!:-(
the horse's mouth ...
Joerg Lorenz
Mar 21, 2022, 5:56:25 PM3/21/22
to
Am 21.03.22 um 19:49 schrieb VanguardLH:
My goodness! What a big deal ...
--
De gustibus non est disputandum
> First time I hit this. Got a notification which, when opened, said Play
> Protect permissions from 3 apps that had not been used in 3 months. I
> tapped on the notification to go into the Play Protect app, scrolled
> down, and found the "Removing permissions for unused apps" which said:
>
> To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
> 3 months will be removed.
>
> I don't care how long it has been since I last used an app. Some apps
> won't get used for many months, if not years, between uses.
What would happen if you would turn it off?
> Protect permissions from 3 apps that had not been used in 3 months. I
> tapped on the notification to go into the Play Protect app, scrolled
> down, and found the "Removing permissions for unused apps" which said:
>
> To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
> 3 months will be removed.
>
> I don't care how long it has been since I last used an app. Some apps
> won't get used for many months, if not years, between uses.
My goodness! What a big deal ...
--
De gustibus non est disputandum
VanguardLH
Mar 22, 2022, 12:49:03 AM3/22/22
to
I can go look at an app, and looks at its permissions, and select which
to enable or disable. No option there to disable the age-triggered
permission removal. I also went into Settings -> Apps -> Permissions
which works the other way around: instead of picking an app to look at
its permissions, this lists the permissions by type (camera, contacts,
storage, etc) and let me see which apps have the selected permission
type. No age-triggered perms removal option there, either.
Settings -> Apps & notifications -> App info -> pick app -> Permissions
(to see an app's permissions)
or
Settings -> Apps & notifications -> App permissions -> pick a permission
(to see all apps with the selected permission)
Nothing there for an option to disable removing permissions for unused
or old apps.
There is no setting in the Play Store app (where you find Play Protect)
to select permissions by app (by selecting an app to remove it from the
candidate list, or a global setting to disable the age-expiration of
permissions.
Tis likely the new change in Play Protect to remove permissions of
unused apps cannot alter the options in the OS, so old versions of
Android won't have the "Remove permissions if app isn't used" option.
This change isn't in an OS update, plus support for my phone died over 2
years ago, so there will be no OS updates, anyway. To make this change
compatible with Android versions older then 11/12, they should've added
the option (per-app, or globally) to disable the age-expiration of
permissions. They added it to Play Protect (in the Play Store app), so
that's where they should've added management of the "feature".
VanguardLH
Mar 22, 2022, 1:10:48 AM3/22/22
to
features, and to their policies that Play Protect would enforce. Their
articles have not been updated to reflect a new feature of Play Protect
is to remove permissions on apps deemed to old since last use, but the
other features are mentioned. Not everyone running Android wants to
install an anti-virus program to compensate for the loss of protection
by disabling Play Protect, plus an AV doesn't cover policy enforcement.
I won't bother copying and pasting the Google articles to show what Play
Protect affords for protection. You could install AV software on the
smartphone, but it won't reflect Google's policy enforcements via Play
Protect. I could disable Play Protect and use just an AV, but I'd still
lose some protection. I'd rather have Play Protect minus permission
aging, and an AV. If I start running old apps that interrupt their use
with prompting to reestablish the permissions, yeah, it won't take long
to get nuisanced often enough to disable Play Protect.
What AV do you use on your desktop computer? Would you appreciate if
they started to disable old apps that you haven't used in 3 months, and
you'd have to revalidate the use of those apps when you go to run them?
You have an app on your desktop hasn't been used in 3 months, so we're
going to disable you from running the app until you answer prompts to
re-authorize it to run again. Yeah, that would be fun ... not!
Andy Burns
Mar 22, 2022, 4:38:35 AM3/22/22
to
VanguardLH wrote:
> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>
>>> I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
>>> candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
>>> the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps.
>>
>> You can't control how long it waits for unused perms, but per app you can tell
>> it not to disable them ...
>>
>> settings/apps/all apps/unused apps/remove perms and free up space
>
> Maybe that's available under Android 11/12.
because automatic permission removal was only introduced in android 11
> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> VanguardLH wrote:
>>
>>> I don't see an option for how long an app is idle before it becomes a
>>> candidate to have its permissions removed. No option to just disable
>>> the removal of permissions of supposedly old unused apps.
>>
>> You can't control how long it waits for unused perms, but per app you can tell
>> it not to disable them ...
>>
>> settings/apps/all apps/unused apps/remove perms and free up space
>
> Maybe that's available under Android 11/12.
> On my old Android 8 phone,
> I can go look at an app, and looks at its permissions, and select which
> to enable or disable. No option there to disable the age-triggered
> permission removal.
Joerg Lorenz
Mar 22, 2022, 1:12:53 PM3/22/22
to
Am 21.03.22 um 19:49 schrieb VanguardLH:
> First time I hit this. Got a notification which, when opened, said Play
> Protect permissions from 3 apps that had not been used in 3 months. I
> tapped on the notification to go into the Play Protect app, scrolled
> down, and found the "Removing permissions for unused apps" which said:
>
> To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
> 3 months will be removed.
Android 11 and newer.
> Protect permissions from 3 apps that had not been used in 3 months. I
> tapped on the notification to go into the Play Protect app, scrolled
> down, and found the "Removing permissions for unused apps" which said:
>
> To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
> 3 months will be removed.
VanguardLH
Mar 23, 2022, 1:50:27 AM3/23/22
to
does the permission expiration. When you tap on the notification,
that's to where you're taken, not to some OS setting regarding apps.
When the notification appears, and you tap on it, you're taken to Play
Protect (in Play Store) where it says:
Removing permissions for unused apps.
To protect your privacy, permissions for apps that you haven't used in
three months will be removed.
Could be yet another permission was added in Android 11 to grant apps to
expire permissions on other apps, but it looks like Play Protect is what
initiates the expiration.
I did find the following about the new "feature" in Android 11:
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/09/28/android-11-can-automatically-revoke-permissions-from-unused-apps/
If Play Protect under Android 8 is neutered without a matching support
option in the OS, why would it bother to notify about something it
cannot perform?
VanguardLH
Mar 23, 2022, 2:36:43 AM3/23/22
to
VanguardLH wrote:
> If Play Protect under Android 8 is neutered without a matching support
> option in the OS, why would it bother to notify about something it
> cannot perform?
Alas, I already cleared the in-app notification (Play Store -> settings
> If Play Protect under Android 8 is neutered without a matching support
> option in the OS, why would it bother to notify about something it
> cannot perform?
-> Play Protect, a section appeared for removed permissions). When it
was there, a "See apps" button was available (which I mentioned when
visited showed an empty list). At the top of that window were buttons
at the top called:
Permissions removed
Auto-remove On
Auto-remove Off
All apps
I can get to the screen now by going to Play Store -> settings -> Play
Protect -> tap the gear icon, and at the bottom of that screen is "App
privacy". Tap on that to get the window with the buttons mentioned
above. To see all the buttons at the top of that window, you have to
scroll them by dragging the button bar (which is not shown nor a hint to
drag to scroll, so crappy UI design). When you tap on a button, you see
a list of apps for that setting.
I tap on the Auto-remove On button to see which apps will become
eligible for expiration of their permissions if not used for 3 months.
Under each app listed is "Permissions will be removed". I have to tap
on each app, and disable the "Remove permissions if app isn't used"
option. With several dozen apps, this is tedious. It is a slow
process, because after disabling the option and tapping the Back button
to get back to the "auto-remove on" list, the app rescans my phone, and
takes a short time, but it adds to the delay to get to the next app to
disable the auto-remove on option. When I install a new app, I have to
wade through this monotonous routine again. There is no global disable
of the permission expiration feature.
All of that configuration is handled inside the Play Protect component
of the Play Store app. So, I don't need Windows 11 to have this
oh-so-wonderful feature.
VanguardLH
Mar 23, 2022, 2:39:01 AM3/23/22
to
myself (to expound) that in Android 8 the permission expiration settings
are in the Play Protect component in the Play Store app. So, perhaps
the feature got added into Android 11, but it has been back-ported to
earlier Android version via the Play Store's Play Protect component.
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