Google will change the Play Protect system to automatically withdraw Android permissions

Google is updating the Play Protect system to allow automatic withdrawal of permissions granted to unused Android applications for a longer period of time.

Statistics show that on average 25% of apps installed on your smartphone or tablet are used only once, after which they are either uninstalled or simply abandoned. The problem is that even if left unused, installed applications may have components running in the background without the users’ knowledge, collecting and transmitting potentially sensitive data. And if the application has requested and obtained extended permissions on the device, we can already talk about major security risks. It is not uncommon for malicious application developers to delay the launch of certain features or modules that would alert automated verification systems in official application stores for a long time, waiting for a sufficiently large number of installations to come to fruition. A simple measure, such as the automatic withdrawal of permissions granted to applications that have been unused for a number of days, can frustrate these practices without disturbing the normal use of the devices.

Google intends to implement this plan with a Play Protect update, with the Android feature responsible for managing permissions for installed applications ensuring that they can be automatically withdrawn if the device usage pattern suggests that they are no longer needed.

Google has introduced support for the automatic withdrawal of major security risk permissions, such as accessing the camera and microphone, since Android 11.

In order not to spoil the operation of applications that continuously need the permissions granted, Google allows developers to mark their applications to be exempted from the self-cleaning function of the Play Protect system. Requests for these exceptions will be processed by Google separately, taking into account the reputation of the application and the developer.

Users who want to see which of their apps will have their permissions revoked just visit the Play Protect section, accessible by tapping the profile picture displayed in the Play Store app (top right corner). Removed permissions applications will appear in the “Removing permissions for unused apps” list.