A permission audit, not panic
In the first Shadow lesson we switched off one permission on one app. Now we go deeper: what an app really needs, what it does not, and how to write it into the phone audit.
The goal is not to delete everything. The goal is to know which doors are open. If an app stops working after switching off, you switch it back on. That is fine.
What to check on each app
On each app you actually use, go through:
- Location — always / while using / never
- Microphone — calls yes, a car game no
- Camera — a filter yes, a game without photos no
- Contacts — chat by hand yes, the whole list no
- Photos — one photo yes, the whole album no
- Tracking (iPhone) — often no
Ask out loud: am I using that function today? If not, switch it off. You can switch it on in a minute.
“Always” for location is too much. “While using” or “ask” is enough. Tiredness is not consent. The third yes from tiredness is exactly what the app is waiting for.
Method step by step
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iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security. Go through Location Services, Microphone, Camera, Contacts, Photos, Tracking.
Android: Settings → Apps → [app] → Permissions. Or Settings → Privacy → Permission manager.
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Pick five apps you use the most. Not twenty at once. A game, chat, a social network, a map, the camera.
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For each one write into the audit: app — permission — left / switched off. Three columns on paper.
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Switch off one unnecessary one on each of the five apps. Open the app. Does it work? Yes — leave it. No — switch it back on and write why.
On iPhone, for location also check Precise Location. A map wants it. A game with little animals almost does not.
What to say at home
To a parent:
“Mum / dad, I need twenty minutes. I want to go through permissions on five apps. We are not deleting anything. We are just closing doors we do not need. I am writing it into the audit.”
To a sibling:
“Look. Your game has the microphone on. You do not need it for this. We will switch it off now. If it wants to record voice, it will ask again.”
Do not touch a school app a teacher switched on (a timetable, Bakaláři, school mail) blind. The audit is about games and networks you opened.
Phone audit
This task belongs to the project phone audit. Once you go through settings with a parent. You write down what you changed. On paper three columns are enough: app — permission — left / switched off. Into a drawer with a parent, not into a group chat.
Now you 💪
Go through five apps. On each one switch off one unnecessary permission, or write why you leave it. The audit has the first page done.
If a parent’s phone is not possible today, write on paper: tomorrow — game X — location always → while using. That is a step too.
Check: You have an audit with five apps. You know the difference always / while using / never for location. You actually switched one permission off.
What to take from this lesson
- Go through five apps. One at a time.
- “Always” for location is too much. “While using” is enough.
- Audit: app — permission — left / switched off.
- Do not touch school apps without a teacher.
© 2026 Ing. Martin Polak / AlgoRhino · Content usage terms