The FUD is fierce as a 9-month-old story paints a scary — but not really correct — view of Android permissions You can't swing a dead cat on the Internet these days without running into yet another misguided story about how scary Android is, and about how apps have access to do all sorts of scary-sounding things. Making the rounds this week is the rehashing of a December 2013 Huffington Post story by Sam Fiorella, whose byline paints him as a partner with Sensei Marketing, and author of Influence Marketing. It's a scary-sounding (and recently updated and corrected piece, starting thusly: How much access to your (and your friends') personal data are you prepared to share for access to free mobile apps? I suspect the amount is significantly less than that which you actually agreed to share when blindly accepting the Terms of Service. Case in point: Facebook's Messenger App, which boasts over 1,000,000,000 downloads, requires the acceptance of an alarming amount of personal data and, even more startling, direct control over your mobile device. I'm willing to bet that few, if any, of those who downloaded this app read the full Terms of Service before accepting them and downloading the app. Scary stuff, indeed. And this week folks have been blindly reblogging this scary story within an inch of its life, presumably in hopes of keeping scary things from happening and saving the world or something. Here's the thing, though: These scary stories aren't telling you the whole truth. They're spreading what we call Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. They're irresponsible, show a distinct lack of knowledge on the way Android permissions work, and frankly they do very little to educate. That's not to say you shouldn't look at an app's permissions before installing it — you absolutely should. But we also need to remember to think about why an app may be declaring the permissions it is. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines Let's take a look at what Facebook Messenger is, exactly, up to.

What are Android permissions, and why should you read them?

If you've ever installed an Android app, chances are you've seen its list of declared permissions. Every now and then you'll come across an app that doesn't have to declare any special permissions, but that's generally the exception and not the rule. And moreover, chances are you've quickly tapped through the list of declared permissions so you could just install the damn app. We've all done it. We know better, but we do it. Permissions are integral to the Android experience. And they're still a little clunky. So what are permissions? And why does my phone need access to all that stuff? Because they're keeping you safe. Any time an app wants to use a feature that's considered "protected" by the system, it'll have to tell you that it wants to do so. In Android's case, it declares permissions before you install an app. You see them in Google Play. You see them on the device itself any time an app is installed, whether it's from Google Play or somewhere else. If an app wants to use, say, the camera, it must declare it as a permission, otherwise it can't use the camera. What might an app need permission to access? Your camera, for one. Location via GPS is another. Same for using telephony, network and other data connections (think phone calls, getting online and the like), SMS and MMS (text messaging), and Bluetooth use. If an app wants to use any part of any of those things, it must declare the permission. And Android has gotten better about permissions as you see them today, simplifying the list and consolidating permissions that shouldn't seem out of the ordinary ("Of course this browser needs Internet access"), making them a little easier to read — but it still has a ways to go in the way it actually explains the permissions. They're still pretty broad and don't really give any insight as to why the app you're installing might need access to those things, and it's not always obvious. They're also still not really written in English (though, again, they're better than they used to be). So they might well sound a little scary, even though they shouldn't be. And as we're seeing in this latest round of FUD, it's real easy to get folks' knickers in a twist. Let's look at Facebook messenger's permissions As we said, you're kind of left to your own devices to decide whether the permissions an app is declaring are scary, or necessary. (Though we'd argue that a company like Facebook probably couldn't get away with sneaking something through for very long, but that's not really the point of this exercise.) So, let's go through them, one by one, as they're currently listed. (Note that the order is different than what you'll find in that original December 2013 HuffPo FUD piece, and the subsequent reblogs.)

Phone calls Directly call phone numbers. This one's followed by a yellow "This may cost you money" warning, and a little image of coins, again indicating that it could, potentially, cost you money.

Read phone status and identity. Why these permissions: Because Facebook messenger can call people. Or, rather, it can initiate a call. If someone has given Facebook their phone number, you'll be able to call them through this app. At the same time, the app has the ability to see what your phone number is.

Texting Edit your text messages (SMS or MMS)

Read your text messages (SMS or MMS)

Receive text messages (MMS)

Receive text messages (SMS)

Send SMS messages (This may cost you money) Why these permissions: Facebook Messenger uses an SMS to confirm your phone number when you decide to give it to Facebook. Note how that works in conjunction with the "read phone identity" permission above. Facebook Messenger also allows you to send a text message or MMS to someone who isn't yet on Messenger. (You have to give it access to your contacts, though, for that to work.) Camera Take pictures and videos Why this permission: Facebook Messenger can use the camera to ... wait for it ... take a picture or shoot video. Microphone Record audio Why this permission: Facebook Messenger can use your microphone to ... wait for it ... record a message to send to a friend. Or make phone calls.