Unity 5.1 adds android permission READ_PHONE_STATE automatically, how to remove it?

First of all, thanks @Yury Habets for taking time to answer.

Secondly, sorry, but maybe I do not understand. Or I am too inexperienced with Unity android. I did not mean to distort your words. The issue here (at least for me) is not whether Android code has changed or not. The only issue is that unity Android builds are different in v5.0 versus v5.1. Now it seems that there are some new services that require those.

It might be that I'm asking this in a wrong forum, and this is not Android specific problem. I apologize if that's the case. I'm currently building only on Android so noticed the issue only with android.

That's great. I really appreciate the hard work you do. Unity is an amazing tool.

That's good news. Thanks for the information.

And that means that at least 1 out of 3 will be changed in v5.2:
- android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE

Just to make sure I'm on the same page on this. Does your reply mean that it will be possible to make Android builds without these 2 permissions in Unity v5.2?
- android.permission.INTERNET
- android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE

Thanks.

 

they are already exist in 5.2
- android.permission.INTERNET
- android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE

you can't remove as i have seen.

 

I don't think v5.2 is yet available. 5.1.2 is the newest version?

 

5.2 is in beta, version Beta 3 ( so please check this version)

 

i have already checked with 5.2.
problem still exists in version 5.2 .
you can disable analytics but it does not remove internet access permission.
with a new project, blank scene, there is always internet access permission for android export.

 

I've just noticed this behaviour today on our new project, went to Issue Tracker and found there is an entry but it's marked as Won't Fix and decided to check forums and found the thread...

While it's a good move if Read_Phone_State not required in 5.2, I'll also need that in 5.1.x branch as 5.2 release is few months away.

And the same thing is true for other two permissions. We're mostly making apps targeting kids and parents are usually very picky regarding the app permissions. As we're not using any kind of internet access, tracking or analytics, we'd prefer our apps free from those permissions if possible.

I think I can remove those manually but it would be best if Unity does not add them by default.

 

Does this mean in Unity 5.2, both Personal and Pro editions, it will be possible to disable analytics and remove these permissions?

 

Same problem here. I need to remove Read_Phone_State from my app...

 

I wrote a simple python script that you can use to strip it out of your apks until Unity posts a fix. https://gist.github.com/kalonw/b0258ef68b7b029ce8a4 you need apktool, zipalign (in android build tools), and jarsigner available from the system path/in the same directory as the script. run it from the same folder that you build your apk to

 

Thank you for a straight and truthful answer. I think we already figured out that was the case, but it's good to finally have it in writing from a well informed source.

I still don't like the internet and network, but it's easier to explain.

Thank you again for the explanation.

 

Thanks @sschan for a clear reply.

Sucks to hear this... but I paid nothing so can't really whine about this. Sticking to 5.0 for now.

 

@sschan is there any way to disable Unity Analytics in Unity Pro 5.103f? Additionally, what other Services products use the READ_PHONE_STATE permission?

Thank You for your help.

 

How donwndrade project from 5.1 to 5.0?

 

I would also like to know if this is possible.

 

Unity, why do you hide that information?

You just making magic changes without providing any notifications and documentation.

Is there any explanation why this so critical bug is not explained in the docs?

Please fix until 5.2!

P.S. As always new Adobe do breaking changes... Hope you will be disabled in Firefox too.

 

- I had 5.1
- I downloaded 5.0
- I made backup of my project
- Opened my 5.1 project using 5.0
=> worked for me.

I could not downgrade 5.1 to 4.7. Got just empty scene and whatnot.

 

Is 5.0 still being updated with bug fixes? I haven't seen any patch releases lately.

 

No, 5.0.4 was the last version, which makes sense to me.
Excluding this issue of course.

 

Thanks, this worked for me !!

 

I was unable to get my project working when rolling back from Unity 5.1.1 to Unity 5.0.x. So, I decided to try and export the project for Android Studio. I unfortunately have some issues getting this to work with Unity Ads though. I described the error I get here. Has anyone else gone this route?

 

i am using 5.0.4f1.
there isnt such problem.

do not use upper than 5.0.4f1 to avoid problem.

 

That's what I mean by "roll back". My project has already been converted to 5.1.1, which means this is not an option for me, because I tried it and it didn't work in my case.

 

This is a fantastic step-by-step, mpinol. I appreciate the promptness and thoroughness of the response. Unfortunately, this doesn't help me. While I have been successful building and running my Android APKs without UnityAds, try running a generated APK with UnityAds. I'd like to know the results.

 

Tried the solution by @mpinol , managed to remove the READ_PHONE_STATE but got some new permissions:
- Approximate location
- Modify data on SD
- Find accounts on this device.

I don't get it,it's not in my manifest. What's the problem?

 

Have you looked at all AndroidManifest.xml files? There may be more than just one that get merged from numerous sources.

 

Yes.

If I build via Gradle after importing the project, I get the following error:

I was able to get around it somewhat by specifying

Code (csharp):

1. minifyEnabled false

for both my Game project and the UnityAds project, though, I'd rather not go that route, because to my understanding, that's essentially circumventing Proguard obfuscation.

With that temporary workaround, I then get this error:

So I also decided to try the .IDEA project that gets exported from Unity, I was able to compile, but I couldn't run from the debugger. I can't assign an Activity to launch from the AS debugger, with the error "Default Activity Not Found". AS doesn't allow me to select "UnityPlayerActivity.java" even though it is indeed an Activity.

I can only deploy the apk to my device, and attempt running it from there, at which point, it crashes with this error:

Which is essentially saying the same thing as me being unable to select the Activity in the debugger.

Now, this problem may be closer to fixable, since this error has been documented in a few places. I've read that it's possible that the UnityPlayerActivity target specified in androidmanifest conflicts with the UnityPlayerActivity in one of the Unity jars. I doubted that because the full package path was specified in the androidmanifest, but I tried renaming the activity UnityPlayerActivity2 as a test, and wasn't successful. Beyond this, I have no leads for moving forward.

EDIT:
Also, I wanted to thank you @mpinol for responding to these issues. I realize the READ_PHONE_STATE has a fix targeted for 5.2, but some of us, like me, are trying to update our apps sooner than that. The more knowledge everyone has on exporting and building the Android project the better.

 

I got only one "AndroidManifest.xml" in the Android studio project

 

When updating to 5.1 i don't remember that i gave any permission to read my personal data or users data. It sounds like you dont want to help us understand what's going on. What analytics? Phone numbers?

Its sounds like: "Pay or we will use your data for our needs"... i never expected such lame behavior from Unity side... Shame on you. How end users can accept your license?

 

Does any one of the 5.2 beta builds include the fix for READ_PHONE_STATE?

 

Thank you for the answer, I'm currently using Unity Analytics in my game.

 

Is this the fix for "hardware stats collection" to allow it to be switched off in Unity Pro?

 

When will it be released? currently the latest I get is 5.1.3p1

 

I just tried 5.1.3f1 and I still see READ_PHONE_STATE as one of the permissions. I'm not familiar with the build id, but I would think that 'f' is for 'final'? If not, how can I get a hold of 5.1.3p2?

 

Patch releases with a 'p' come out after the final release. 5.1.3p2 isn't out yet but it will be available here https://unity3d.com/unity/qa/patch-releases?version=5.1 when it is.

 

I can confirm that 5.1.3p2 has the fix for removing the READ_PHONE_STATE permission. Thanks for the hard work and transparent communication, Unity Technologies team!

 

Hi folks - Thanks for your patience as I looked into the permissions with the Analytics Engineering team. The permissions are partially related to Unity Analytics. There are additional Services products that use these permissions. I am only able to comment on how these permissions interact with Analytics. For 5.2 release, READ_PHONE_STATE is fixed. However, INTERNET and ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE are related to hardware stats collection and can not be disabled unless you are a Pro user.
​

It does sound a bit like some kind of hardware tracking does it mean unity collects informations from Android with every Project? Has Unity gone into the same collect all - selfdestruction mode as google did long ago?

I as Developer want at least to be able to let the user opt out of it!

Q: I play a game built with Unity software, what should I know?
A: Unity has probably collected some or all of the following information about your device: Unique device identifier generated from the device MAC/IMEI/MEID (which we immediately convert into a different number using a one way hash); IP address; Device manufacturer and model; the operating system and version running on your system or device; browser type; language; the make of the CPU, and number of CPUs present; the graphics card type and vendor name; graphics card driver name and version (example: "nv4disp.dll 6.10.93.71"); which graphics API is in use (example: "OpenGL 2.1" or "Direct3D 9.0c"); amount of system and video RAM present; current screen resolution; version of the Unity Player; version of the Unity Editor used to create the content; a number describing whether the player is running on Mac, Windows or other platforms; and a checksum of all the data that gets sent to verify that it did transmit correctly; application or bundle identification ("app id") of the game installed. Some Unity developers use Unity’s analytics and ad services which collect additional information. See FAQs on Unity Analytics and Unity Ads below.
​

Actually i am not savy about laws but does this not mean every App must include your privacy policy too?

• We use Google Analytics to understand how our sites are used and to improve experiences within the Service. If you want to know more about how Google Analytics works or to exercise choice in regard to the data collected by it please visit http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. In order to control the collection of data for analytical purposes by Google, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-On.

Ahh no wonder i get on facebook ads for Unity tutorials.

 

If you have a PRO ACCOUNT, then you can, just untick the box in the build options.
I assume this should disable the need to access permissions - if it does not then its a separate bug.

 

ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE is fixed in Unity 5.3! I've tried on our projects

 

android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE is still present on our project...