Permissions and Data Use

Location Simulator – Mock GPS Permissions and Data Use Last Updated: June 21, 2026

This page explains every Android permission the App may request and why each is needed. All permissions are user-granted and can be denied; denied permissions disable or limit the feature that depends on them.

1. Location Permissions (ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION / ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) Used to read your real GPS position. This is needed to center the map on your current location and to validate the mock setup. Android's FusedLocationProvider mock APIs also require this permission group. This data is not sent to our servers.

2. Background Location (ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION) The mock location service (MockLocationService) runs as a foreground service. This permission allows it to keep publishing mock coordinates when the App is backgrounded or when a scheduler alarm fires.

3. Mock Location (ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION) Required for the actual mock-location operation. It is not granted via a runtime dialog but by the user enabling Android Developer Options and selecting this App as the "mock location app".

4. Foreground Service Permissions (FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE) Declared in the manifest so MockLocationService and the floating widget service can run with a persistent notification.

5. Notifications (POST_NOTIFICATIONS — Android 13+) Used for the foreground service notification and the Smart Shield standby notification.

6. Receive Boot Completed (RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED) Used to re-register scheduled alarms after the device reboots.

7. Exact Alarm (SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM — Android 12+) Granted through Android's special-access screen so the scheduler can fire exactly at the configured time.

8. Display Over Other Apps (SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW) Used for the floating widget. Only requested if the user chooses to enable that feature.

9. Query All Packages (QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES) Used by the Smart Shield app picker so the user can assign a location profile to each installed app. The list is read locally and never leaves the device.

10. Media Location (ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION) Required so the Photo GPS Editor can read the original EXIF location bytes of the picked image. From Android 10 onward, EXIF GPS is stripped without this permission.

11. Usage Access (PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS) Used by Smart Shield only. Granted manually by the user from the system "Usage access" settings. It reads only the package name of the foreground app to match it against user-defined rules; it does not read screen content. This feature does not use the Accessibility Service. See the Usage Access Disclosure page for details.

Tools (Measurement and Calculation Tools): The Ruler, Area, Circle, Sun & Sun Path, and Cooldown tools in the "Tools" mode require no additional permission or network access. The Compass tool only reads the device's magnetometer sensor, which also requires no permission.

12. Internet (INTERNET) Required to download map tiles, communicate with Firebase (Remote Config / Crashlytics / Firestore), and resolve address search (geocoding). The App's core mock-location feature works without an internet connection.

What Data Leaves the Device? • Google Maps: Standard map-tile requests go to Google. • Address search (Geocoding): the place-name query you search on the map is resolved into coordinates via the Android system geocoder (over the internet; the backend resolver may be Google). Only the search text you type leaves the device. • Firebase Remote Config: Calls the minimum-required-version configuration check only. • Firebase Crashlytics: Only on release builds and only if enabled, sends crash stacks and device/model info. • Cloud Firestore: Reads the app_meta/changelog document only, to display the "What's New" (changelog) text; no user data is written or uploaded. • No advertising SDK. No analytics SDK.

What Data Never Leaves the Device? • Your real GPS location. • The list of installed apps. • Screen content, typed text, messages, passwords. • Your photos or photo metadata.

Questions: akillisletme@gmail.com

— Change Note (June 21, 2026): Updated for the v2.1.0 release. Item 11 now describes the Usage Access permission (PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS) instead of BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE. It was noted that the measurement/calculation tools in the "Tools" mode require no additional permission or network access (the Compass uses the magnetometer sensor).

Change Note (June 1, 2026): Updated for the v1.7.0 release. The read-only Cloud Firestore changelog access (app_meta/changelog) was added to the "What Data Leaves the Device?" section.