It wants to know your phone number, what cell network you're on, and whether you're on a call. Yoga tops the list with six requests for dangerous permissions, including reading your phone state. Not cool.Īs originally highlighted by our sister site ZDNet, a number of popular Android VPN apps have been grabbing more permissions than they need. But sometimes 'dangerous' permissions include unnecessary requests, like when an app wants to be able to change your system settings, read your list of phone calls, or pinpoint your exact location. Like when an app asks for general location data to check whether a public Wi-Fi network is trusted. Some are harmless or required by Android. 'Dangerous' permissions can compromise privacy.

'Normal' permissions are usually granted by Android - they let apps stay awake during use or get online when you tell them to. So before you trust that highly rated VPN app with a million installs on the Google Play Store, just know that there are plenty of shady Android VPNs that grab more permissions than they actually need and put your privacy at risk.Īll the research boils down to each app's number of 'normal' permissions and 'dangerous' permissions. A reliable and well-tested virtual private network app will shield your mobile browsing from prying eyes - without slurping up your data or totally controlling your operating system.

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