# Runtime Permission Issues in Android Apps: Taxonomy, Practices, and Ways Forward

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.13012 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.13012/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 24 Jun 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Detecting Android Malware: From Neural Embeddings to Hands-On Validation with BERTroid](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.03620/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Android introduces a new permission model that allows apps to request permissions at runtime rather than at the installation time since 6.0 (Marshmallow, API level 23). While this runtime permission model provides users with greater flexibility in controlling an app's access to sensitive data and system features, it brings new challenges to app development. First, as users may grant or revoke permissions at any time while they are using an app, developers need to ensure that the app properly checks and requests required permissions before invoking any permission-protected APIs. Second, Android's permission mechanism keeps evolving and getting customized by device manufacturers. Developers are expected to comprehensively test their apps on different Android versions and device models to make sure permissions are properly requested in all situations. Unfortunately, these requirements are often impractical for developers. In practice, many Android apps suffer from various runtime permission issues (ARP issues). While existing studies have explored ARP issues, the understanding of such issues is still preliminary. To better characterize ARP issues, we performed an empirical study using 135 Stack Overflow posts that discuss ARP issues and 199 real ARP issues archived in popular open-source Android projects on GitHub. Via analyzing the data, we observed 11 types of ARP issues that commonly occur in Android apps. Furthermore, we conducted a field survey and in-depth interviews among practitioners, to gain insights from industrial practices and learn practitioners' requirements of tools that can help combat ARP issues. We hope that our findings can shed light on future research and provide useful guidance to practitioners.