X

How to control what data your Android apps transmit

If you are concerned about what personal information apps want from your Android, here are some settings you can tweak to send only the information you want from your device.
By Eileen Brown, Contributor
How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
1 of 13 Krapalm

Check your permissions

Look at settings on your Android to view the permissions for each app installed. You can customise permissions to allow or deny access to other components of your Android device.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
2 of 13 Eileen Brown

Settings - Apps

All the useful features to control what data apps send are in settings. Select apps from the list.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
3 of 13 Eileen Brown

App list

You will see a list of apps installed on your Android device.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
4 of 13 Eileen Brown

Permissions

Select an app from the list. This screen shows "notification" permissions for the app and other permissions such as "open by default."

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
5 of 13 Eileen Brown

Assigning permission

Select permissions and use the slider to select which of the components you want the app to use.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
6 of 13 Eileen Brown

Granular control

Some apps such as Facebook require a lot of permissions. This installation has 34.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
7 of 13 Eileen Brown

Notifications slider

You can control notifications, pop ups, and security features from the app screen.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
8 of 13 Eileen Brown

Allow or reject

You can configure each app to allow, reject, or ask (in some versions of Android OS) for access to each of the features.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
9 of 13 Eileen Brown

Select your permission level

Tap the feature that you want to change and select your option.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
10 of 13 Eileen Brown

Adjust the slider

Some versions of Android have fewer permissions, but you can still modify them to suit your requirements

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
11 of 13 Eileen Brown

Choose which feature you want to use

For each app, select which features you want the app to use. Here, I have disabled the calendar camera, storage, and telephone.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
12 of 13 Eileen Brown

Check each component

Some apps have fewer permissions that you can modify.

How to control what data your Android apps transmit ZDNet
13 of 13 Eileen Brown

Choose features

Configure the features you want to use. Remember, some features of the app may no longer work if you have disabled a key function that the app needs to work as normal.

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes
Holiday lights in Central Park background

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes

21 Photos
Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting
Wooden lodge in pine forest with heavy snow reflection on Lake O'hara at Yoho national park

Related Galleries

Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting

21 Photos
Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes
3D Rendering Christmas interior

Related Galleries

Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes

21 Photos
Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza
img-8825

Related Galleries

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza

26 Photos
A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex
img-9792-2

Related Galleries

A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex

22 Photos
Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup
shutterstock-1024665187.jpg

Related Galleries

Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup

8 Photos
Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'
Full of promises!

Related Galleries

Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'

8 Photos