About App Permission Manager
My old app, Privacy Guardian, started pushing premium features so hard it became useless. I was fed up and went looking for a straight replacement. I found App Permission Manager by o16i Apps and figured I’d give it a shot since it was free. Honestly, I expected another app that just lists permissions in a confusing way. What I got was a central control panel that lets me change permissions for any app, which is way more direct than digging through Android’s own settings. For someone who hates paying for something before knowing it works, this was a perfect starting point.
Features & Highlights
The main screen is just a list of every app on my Galaxy S23 and the permissions they have. No fluff. I opened it last Tuesday night and the first thing I saw was my food delivery app still tracking my location from three days prior. That was creepy. The tracker that logs when apps actually use permissions is the best part. I found out a note-taking app was accessing my storage dozens of times a day, even when closed. I used the batch feature to select all my free puzzle games and cut off their microphone access in one go. You also get a small alert if something fishy happens, like when a calculator app tried to read my SMS. It’s those specific catches that make it feel powerful.
User Experience
It looks simple, maybe even a bit plain, but I like that. It does one job. When you first open it, it asks for permission to monitor other apps, which is the whole point so I granted it. The scan took maybe a minute. Going through the list felt like cleaning out a junk drawer – satisfying but a little alarming. I spent a solid half-hour just revoking calendar access from apps that had no business needing it. Everything is where you’d expect it to be. I didn’t need a tutorial, which is a big win for me. It just gets out of your way and lets you do the work.
Pricing
It’s completely free. No “pro” version nagging you, no subscription pop-ups. There’s a small banner ad at the very bottom of the screen, but it’s just a static image. It doesn’t play videos or jump around. For a tool that gives you this much control over your own device, I can live with a tiny ad. I’ve tested every feature over two weeks, and nothing is locked behind a paywall. In a world where every app wants a monthly fee, finding one this useful that costs nothing feels like a minor miracle.
Updates & Support
I checked the Play Store page before downloading, and the developer updates it pretty regularly, mostly for new Android versions. I did have one issue where the app froze after a security patch on my phone. I used the contact email in the Play Store listing. They got back to me after a couple of days, which was slower than I’d like, but they were helpful and asked for details. A fix was in the next update about a week later. You won’t get instant chat support, but for a free app, knowing the developer is actually reading emails is good enough.
Security & Privacy
This is the big question: can you trust a privacy app? I only got it from the official Play Store. Yes, the app needs high-level permissions to function, but it doesn’t ask for anything weird like your identity. It stays on your device. I don’t see it making network requests in my connection logs, which was a relief. Using it made me realize the real privacy risk was all the other apps I had installed, not this one. It’s a tool to manage the mess, and it seems to do that without adding to the problem.
How does App Permission Manager's permission tracker work?
The app logs when any app on your device actually uses a permission, so you can see which apps are accessing your location, storage, or microphone even when you're not using them. For example, one user found a note-taking app accessing storage dozens of times a day while closed, which made revoking that permission a no-brainer.
Can I change permissions for multiple apps at once?
Yes, there's a batch feature that lets you select several apps and revoke a specific permission in one go. For instance, you can cut off microphone access from all your free puzzle games simultaneously without having to edit each app individually.
What should I do if App Permission Manager asks for permission to monitor other apps?
Just grant it — that permission is essential for the app to do its job of tracking which apps are using permissions in real time. The initial scan takes about a minute, and then you'll see a full list of every app and its permissions ready for you to manage.
I see a calculator app trying to read my SMS. Is that a bug or something suspicious?
That's exactly the kind of fishy behavior App Permission Manager is designed to catch. A calculator app has no legitimate reason to read your SMS, so you should immediately revoke that permission using the app's alert or by going into the permission list.
How does App Permission Manager compare to Privacy Guardian?
Unlike Privacy Guardian, which became cluttered with aggressive premium upsells, App Permission Manager is completely free and focuses purely on giving you a central control panel to change permissions directly. It's more straightforward than digging through Android's own settings and doesn't push paid features, making it a solid replacement for users who want a no-nonsense tool.
