# Block access to certain permissions



## Farmgirl22 (Jun 12, 2006)

Just bought my first tablet yesterday, and was looking at apps. I would like to download a few, but I'm not willing to allow so much access. It's not a phone so it doesn't need to access my contacts. There is no reason for anything to access my location unless I'm using it for a gps (I won't my car has it). That sort of thing. I want a non warranty voiding method to deny access.

Suggestions? Thanks!


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## mgs2804 (May 27, 2013)

Simple answer: You can't.

You will need root access to your phone to be able to restrict the permissions of your apps. With all major manufacturers, rooting voids your warranty. You can, however, unroot your phone to make it seem (to the manufacturer) that it's never been rooted, but this is in many cases a difficult and (if not done right) dangerous procedure.

Keep in mind that some apps require permissions that it isn't obvious they need. For example, Facebook needs the Fine Location permission to be able to (if you request it to) tag photos you upload with a location.

Hope this helps!


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## Farmgirl22 (Jun 12, 2006)

Well, it sounds like it's just going to have to go back to the store. I'm not willing to allow it so much access, and it doesn't sync to my laptop like I had hoped/expected, so it's really pretty useless to me. And it's too expensive to keep as a "word search" game/mp3 player. 

Is there anything I should do to erase my data from there before I take it back? Or is it better if I leave it to the people at the store to clear everything out?


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## mgs2804 (May 27, 2013)

What model/manufacturer is it? You can make it sync automatically to your computer. Also, if you're cosidering getting a iOS or Windows device instead, keep in mind that many apps for these OSes also need a lot of permissions, but may not always be required to display them.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

I doubt that you are going to find anything with a universal Location Services switch. On my iOS devices I recently went through the settings for all the Apps and turned Location Services off for most. Then, when the need arose, turned back on for a few. Maybe even this "brute force" way is not available with Android?


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## mgs2804 (May 27, 2013)

This should help you if have upgraded or can upgrade to Android 4.3: http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...ager-control-permissions-for-individual-apps/


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## Farmgirl22 (Jun 12, 2006)

Oh I successfully synced it to my computer, no problem. It just didn't sync as I was expecting--for example, most of my favorite add-ons don't work with the Android platform at all (i.e. Ad-block Plus) which was extremely annoying.

I wanted the tablet to be my laptop in a smaller, easier to carry format, and it wasn't. It's not a problem with the device itself, I guess I just had different expectations than it was intended to provide. I usually research better than this, but everyone else seemed to LOVE their tablets and since I had some birthday money to spend, I took their word for it, read the reviews, and picked one.

TerryNet, it does actually have what appears to be a universal Location Services switch, however, I can't tell that it works. When the guy set it up for me, I told him (and then watched him) turn off all the location services, but the next day after I was trying (key word) to download stuff from the Play store, it was turned on again. It seems to be staying off now, but who knows for how long.  I haven't figured out how to turn off access to programs individually though.


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