Permissions changes requiring manual update

Question

If an application changes its permissions, the Android market will generally mark it for manual update. Is this true if the change is only to remove a permission that was previously required by an app? Or will any change to the permissions mark the app for manual update?

Rajath · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-31T10:53:29.377

5

EDIT

I tried it out today. Removed a permission from the app and put it up on the market. I had also ticked the 'auto update' feature in the mkt page. Although it did not automatically update the app, it did not say 'manual update' in the mkt page.

edited Mar 31 '11 at 10:53

answered Mar 26 '11 at 05:39

Rajath

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I hate to cast doubt on this answer, but are you reasoning this out, or is there some documentation or experience behind this statement? – Jonathan Schneider Mar 28 '11 at 12:08
More of reasoning. I've only noticed that when there is an additional permission (compared to before), that a manual update is mandated. – Rajath Mar 28 '11 at 14:50
Yeah, that fact is without a doubt. But it would stand to reason that if you remove a permission there is really no reason to inform the user. It SHOULD be implemented this way, just not sure if it is. – Jonathan Schneider Mar 29 '11 at 17:45
I was expecting a no to this question :-( – rds Mar 30 '11 at 14:56
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I tried it out today. Removed a permission from the app and put it up on the market. I had also ticked the 'auto update' feature in the mkt page. Although it did not automatically update the app, it did not say 'manual update' in the mkt page. – Rajath Mar 30 '11 at 15:53
if you could update your answer with this information, it could be marked as accepted; it'll save people from reading all the comments. – ataulm Mar 31 '11 at 10:48
Thanks for trying it out and getting back to us Rajath – Jonathan Schneider Mar 31 '11 at 23:26
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I can confirm that an app does not require manual updating if a permission has been removed. – David Burström Mar 03 '13 at 14:42

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 11 '13 at 15:48

Removing permissions does not prevent auto-upgrades.

Adding a permission might prevent auto-upgrade, but not all permissions do. A good heuristic is to look at the protectionLevel of the permission; "dangerous" permissions will prevent auto upgrade, "normal" in general will not, but it's good to test with a small test bench app.

Third-party permissions are typically "normal" or "signed", and "signed" are treated same as "normal" with regards to auto upgrade.

Also, as of v4.1.6 Google Play app does show apps that require manual acceptance of new permissions in a separate "Manual Update" section. They are listed along all other updates, and the GP app will just show the new permissions dialog when user tries to update them.

Permissions changes requiring manual update

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