Android permissions after submitting app to Amazon and Google

Question

I recently submitted my app to both Amazon and Google. I won't link to or mention the app at this time because I do not want you to think I am promoting it. Rather I have config.json question related to permissions. Here is a trimmed down version of my config.json -

"modules": {
    "contact": false,
    "event": true,
    "file": false,
    "geolocation": false,
    "is": true,
    "message": false,
    "notification": false,
    "prefs": false,
    "sms": false,
    "tabs": true,
    "tools": true,
    "topbar": true,
    "tabbar": true,
    "media": true
 }

After submitting my packaged .apk file... both Google & Amazon list the app's permissions. Most of them make sense. However, the ones listed below do not seem to make sense since I disabled file, contact, and geolocation in my json.config.

Google permissions indicate:

Your location - fine (GPS) location.

Your personal information - read contact data.

Storage - Allows the app to write to the USB storage. Allows the app to write to the SD card.

Amazon permissions indicate:

android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE;

android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION;

android.permission.READ_CONTACTS;

The "write external storage" permission is not a show stopper and I can live with it. However, I do not want my potential users thinking that the app wants to access their geolocation and read their contacts... especially when Google displays -

"Malicious apps may use this to determine where you are, and may consume additional battery power."

"Allows the app to read all of the contact (address) data stored on your phone. Malicious apps may use this to send your data to other people."

Any idea what I am doing wrong in my config.json? Maybe I should just leave geolocation & contact out? Still... then setting these to false may not be working correctly. Thanks.

Answer 1

I fixed this problem by exluding those redundant modules from the config.json instead of setting them to false.

Try this: (just removed the values contact, file and geolocation)

"modules": {
    "event": true,
    "is": true,
    "message": false,
    "notification": false,
    "prefs": false,
    "sms": false,
    "tabs": true,
    "tools": true,
    "topbar": true,
    "tabbar": true,
    "media": true
 }