![]() ![]() Some permissions, such as and _NETWORK_STATE was granted to all of the VPN apps automatically. They are listed as “normal” by the Android developers. These are completely normal and shouldn’t cause any worry. ![]() Many of the permissions above are needed for a VPN to function, these include getting access to Internet, checking your connection status and keeping your app awake. Gives the VPN developers information on how the users arrived to the app before installing.Ī_EXTERNAL_STORAGEĪllows VPN to write to external storage, such as SD.Īllows VPN to read from external storage, such as SD.Īllows read only access to phone state, including the phone number of the device, current cellular network information and the status of any ongoing calls.Ī_COARSE_LOCATIONĪllows the API to use WiFi or mobile cell data (or both) to determine the device’s location.Īllows VPN applications to change Wi-Fi connectivity state.Īllows VPN app to access users precise location. To notify if device restart is completed.Īllows VPN applications to access information about Wi-Fi networks.Ĭom.RECEIVEĬom.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE Red: Dangerous – permissions that compromise user’s privacy or system (user must agree).Īllows VPN applications to open network sockets.Īllows VPN applications to access information about networks.Ī_BOOT_COMPLETED.Green: Normal – permissions granted automatically by the Android system.Most commonly requested permissions for Android VPN apps. Table 1 shows the most common permissions requested by the VPN apps in this study. Depending on what an app wants to do and how it does it, it may need a different set of permissions. Most Commonly Asked Permissions By VPNsĪndroid has a variety of different permissions for different purposes. Here’s a more detailed Google spreadsheet with all the permissions from the tested Android VPN apps. Our goal was to find out the most commonly used permissions by the VPN apps as well as the questionable and more suspicious permissions that are either not needed for the VPN app to work or are violating the user’s privacy or security.Īll of the tested apps were downloaded from the Google Play store and the permissions lists were extracted directly from the app’s. In this study, 81 Android VPN apps were evaluated based upon the permissions that they request. Dangerous permissions – Could potentially affect user’s privacy or the device’s normal operation, the user must explicitly agree to grant those permissions.Īs a VPN user, you want your VPN to not ask any kind of dangerous permissions that are not needed for the VPN app to function or which can compromise your privacy.Normal permissions – Don’t pose risk to the user’s privacy and are granted automatically by the system to the app. ![]() The purpose of a permission is to protect the privacy of an Android user.Īccording to Android documentation for app developers, permissions fall into two groups – normal and dangerous. ![]()
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