Permissions Snapshots: Assessing Users' Adaptation to the Android Runtime Permission Model

The Android operating system changed its security and privacy-related permission model recently, offering its users the ability to control resources that applications are allowed to access on their devices. This major change to the traditional coarse-grained permission system was anticipated for a long time by privacy-aware users. This paper presents the first study that analyzes Android users' adaptation to the fine-grained runtime permission model, regarding their security and privacy controls. We gathered anonymous data from 50 participants who downloaded our application and answered questions related to the new permission model. The results indicate that the majority of users prefer the new model. We also collected data that demonstrate users' security controls at the given time. Our analysis shows that individuals make consistent choices regarding the resources they allow to various applications to access