Android social applications permission overview from a privacy perspective

Nowadays, mobile applications (apps) are very popular, extending the functionality of smartphones and offering users way more features than the basic, built-in software. As there is a wide range of applications available on Google Play or other application platforms, smartphone users can choose those that better meet their needs and requirements. Among these demands, privacy tends to be more and more significant for people, who recognize the importance of data protection in the online environment. From the privacy and data protection perspective, social applications are a very particular type of application, because their primary aim is to facilitate online socialization through features that request a large number of permissions to be fully functional. This is why it is necessary to be aware of privacy risks and know how current social applications protect user privacy by applying the privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default principles.