Android SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission

Question

I read that with Android 6.0, users need to manually allow apps to hold this permission by going to app advanced settings and enabling "Draw over other apps". I have a Nexus 5 with Android 6.0 but I don't seem to be prompted to enable this setting. When I install apps from the Play Store that require this permission, such as LastPass, it gets granted automatically.

Why is this so?

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 05 '17 at 13:45

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It is a new behaviour introduced in Marshmallow 6.0.1.

Every app that requests the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission and that is installed through the Play Store (version 6.0.5 or higher is required), will have granted the permission automatically.

If instead the app is sideloaded, the permission is not automatically granted. You can try to download and install the Evernote APK from apkmirror.com. As you can see you need to manually grant the permission in Settings -> Apps -> Draw over other apps.

[The above information is from this post.]

If you want the app to be sideloaded, you show manually show a prompt and direct the user to enable Draw over other apps permissions from the settings. Have a look at Requesting permissions

edited Jul 05 '17 at 13:45

drmrbrewer

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answered Jun 27 '16 at 03:58

Praveen Kishore

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Is this new behavior only on 6.0.1 and above? i.e. 6.0 will still require user intervention even if the app is installed from Play Store? – user1118764 Jun 28 '16 at 05:47
What shall I do if my app isn't present in a list of apps in "Draw over other apps" setting? – Grinchman Jul 18 '16 at 07:41
Your app should be shown in the settings if the permission "SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW" is declared in the app manifest. – Praveen Kishore Jul 19 '16 at 05:31
how to close permission activity after turning on? – Lalit Jadav Nov 23 '18 at 08:53

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

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Every app that requests the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission and that is installed through the Play Store (version 6.0.5 or higher is required), will have granted the permission automatically.

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edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

Community

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answered Jun 27 '16 at 03:47

Jiangty

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 11 '17 at 00:10

There are mainly two types of permissions, they are

Normal Permissions
Dangerous Permissions

Normal permissions indicates that there's no great risk to the user's privacy or security in letting apps have those permissions. For example, users would reasonably want to know whether an app can read their contact information, so users have to grant this permission explicitly. By contrast, there's no great risk in allowing an app to vibrate the device, so that permission is designated as normal.

Dangerous permissions cover areas where the app wants data or resources that involve the user's private information, or could potentially affect the user's stored data or the operation of other apps. For example, the ability to read the user's contacts is a dangerous permission. If an app declares that it needs a dangerous permission, the user has to explicitly grant the permission to the app.

In this case, SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW comes under Normal permissions, that is if an app declares in its manifest that it needs a normal permission, the system automatically grants the app that permission at install time. The system does not prompt the user to grant normal permissions, and users cannot revoke these permissions.

You can see the list of normal permissions in this link and dangerous permissions here.

Android SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission

3 Answers3