Android permissions: How can I learn which are dangerous vs normal?

Question

Android defines a set of permissions that third-party apps can request. Permissions are categorized by sensitivity; most permissions are either "normal" or "dangerous". Normal permissions are granted automatically, without prompting the user; dangerous permissions are presented to the user when the app is installed and the user is asked to consent to granting them.

Question: For any particular Android permission I have in mind, how can I tell whether it is a normal permission or a dangerous permission? Is there a list of dangerous permissions and a list of normal permissions?

(I know that third-party apps can declare their own permissions. I'm only asking about standard permissions. I know it may not be possible to get a 100%-complete list. I'm only looking for best-effort; something is better than nothing.)

For a related but different question, see also Where can I get a list of Android permissions (however, that's a different question; it doesn't at the normal vs dangerous distinction, and I don't necessarily need a complete list).

Answer 1

For more simplicity, below are list of Normal permissions taken from official docs:

As of API level 23, the following permissions are classified as PROTECTION_NORMAL:

ACCESS_LOCATION_EXTRA_COMMANDS
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
ACCESS_NOTIFICATION_POLICY
ACCESS_WIFI_STATE
BLUETOOTH
BLUETOOTH_ADMIN
BROADCAST_STICKY
CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE
CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE
CHANGE_WIFI_STATE
DISABLE_KEYGUARD
EXPAND_STATUS_BAR
FLASHLIGHT
GET_PACKAGE_SIZE
INTERNET
KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES
MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS
NFC
READ_SYNC_SETTINGS
READ_SYNC_STATS
RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
REORDER_TASKS
REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES
SET_TIME_ZONE
SET_WALLPAPER
SET_WALLPAPER_HINTS
TRANSMIT_IR
USE_FINGERPRINT
VIBRATE
WAKE_LOCK
WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS
SET_ALARM
INSTALL_SHORTCUT
UNINSTALL_SHORTCUT

And here is list of Dangerous permissions and permission groups:

CALENDAR : READ_CALENDAR, WRITE_CALENDAR
CAMERA : CAMERA
CONTACTS : READ_CONTACTS, WRITE_CONTACTS, GET_ACCOUNTS
LOCATION : ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
MICROPHONE : RECORD_AUDIO
PHONE : READ_PHONE_STATE, CALL_PHONE, READ_CALL_LOG, WRITE_CALL_LOG, ADD_VOICEMAIL, USE_SIP, PROCESS_OUTGOING_CALLS
SENSORS : BODY_SENSORS    
SMS     : SEND_SMS, RECEIVE_SMS, READ_SMS, RECEIVE_WAP_PUSH, RECEIVE_MMS
STORAGE : READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Answer 2

Normal permissions are granted automatically, without prompting the user

AFAIK, the documentation is wrong here.

dangerous permissions are presented to the user when the app is installed and the user is asked to consent to granting them

AFAIK, all permissions have this behavior.

What this may have morphed into is that dangerous permissions are always displayed and normal permissions are ones that might be "below the fold" if there are enough dangerous ones.

For any particular Android permission I have in mind, how can I tell whether it is a normal permission or a dangerous permission? Is there a list of dangerous permissions and a list of normal permissions?

You can look at the source code.

Answer 3

I found this blogpost listing the "default" permissions by protection level. I think, this is the kind of list you were looking for.

The list might have changed in the meantime though, as the post is 10 months old. It provides sample code to recompile the list by yourself.