Whenever you install a new app from the Google Play store, it displays an alert message about the permissions required by that app to work on your smartphone. The permissions required by various apps are different and range from accessing the network or system settings to access to SMS/Call features or your personal information like phonebook. The way the alert message is displayed, it does not convert much information for the common user and most of use do not even bother to read it. Depending on the permissions granted to an app, that app can automatically send SMS, make a call, open sites and compromise your personal information. If you want to see which apps installed in your Android smartphone have access to these special permissions and whether they can cost you money (by sending SMS or making calls), compromise your personal information, can impact battery life or can view geo-location information, then you can use the free F-Secure App Permissions app for Android.
After installing the F-Secure App Permissions app you can launch it from the “All Apps” screen in Android. It scans all your installed apps and shows the number of permissions needed by each one of them.
You can also filter the installed apps depending on the type of permissions that need. This makes it easy to see which of apps can cost you money, can impact your battery (the apps that use more battery), can see your personal information stored in your smartphone or can access your location information.
You can tap on the menu for the F-Secure App Permissions (near the top-left corner) and then select Filter from the menu to see a list of permissions required by the apps. You can select one or more of these permissions to filter the list of apps that need these selected permissions. For example, if you select the permission SEND_SMS, then it will show the apps that can send the SMS automatically (and thus costing you money).
Conclusion: The F-Secure App Permissions app is a very handy app to know why do the installed apps need so many permissions. You can see which of the apps can cost you money, can use battery extensively, can access your personal or geo-location information etc.
You can download and install F-Secure App Permissions app from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsecure.app.permissions.privacy.