Permissions Snapshot

A survey to assess Android’s runtime permission model acceptance from users.

Studying Users’ Adoption of the Android’s New Security Model (Runtime Permission Model)

This study has been approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee (Project ID Number): 8945/001

We would like to invite you to participate in this research project.

Details of Study: We are undertaking a research study that examines Android users’ adoption of the new Runtime Permission model, which was presented recently when the Android Marshmallow Operating System (OS) was introduced. We aim to examine how users interact with the apps they download (and install at their devices) and what type of permissions they grant to these apps. To this end we are seeking participants that will download and install at their devices (from the official Google Play Store) an app we developed, that will serve our research as a survey instrument. These participants must have a mobile device that runs the sixth version of the Android operating system (Android Marshmallow). It would not be possible to install our app and participate in our survey otherwise. After agreeing to take part to our research, the participants must download and install the app to their mobile devices.

After installing the app to your device, you (as a participant) must agree to the terms of this research project. You will read the terms of participation when you run the app. In order to proceed, you must click on the checkbox that will appear on the introductory screen. Then the app will instantly gather relevant information from the device regarding the permissions that were granted to each app. Please note that this information will be anonymous. We will not store email accounts, names, telephone numbers or any other personal and sensitive information. However, you should be aware that our app will get the names of the apps you are using. For example, if the Youtube app is installed on the device, our app will store this information using the name of the package that is installed in the device, which in this case will be “com.google.android.youtube”. Then you will provide demographic details (Gender, Age, Residence Area) and answer some generic questions.

Finally, you will be asked to click a button (“SEND DATA”) in order to upload your answers on our server and you will see the final page of our electronic questionnaire (a small tutorial) which provides information about the new Runtime Permission model of the Android OS. Then, you will be asked to exit the app by clicking a button. The whole procedure will not take more that a couple of minutes. There is no reason to run the app again after seeing the small tutorial. However, you will be informed that the app will request your participation again in the near future. You can uninstall the app anytime you want. Also, you can stop using the app anytime you want. The app must be used once and in order to participate your device must be connected to the Internet.

The anonymously collected information and your answers will be sent to our servers where will be held for analysis for a maximum period of one year. As participation is anonymous it will not be possible for us to withdraw your data once you have uploaded your responses (after you clicked the “SEND DATA” button). You can review the data your device provided using its Settings app (app permissions).

To participate in this study, you must meet the following requirements.

REQUIREMENTS:

You must have a device running the Android Marshmallow Operating System.

Your device must be connected to the Internet.

You are happy to provide us anonymous information related to app permissions on your device.

You are over 18 years old.

All data will be collected and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering take part in this research.