Why is android / google play asking for permissions for my react native application when my android version is 6+?

Question

I have built a React Native application that works well and has been deployed on the stores for some months now, and some of my users reported that the Play Store was asking them for permissions BEFORE download whereas most of the apps nowadays dont.

My first reflex was to ask for their android version to know is their were Android 6 or more. And sure enough, they were. Then I tested with my phone which runs 7.0 and again I was asked for permissions right before download as with old versions of Android.

Here are the permissions I request :

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="com.android.vending.BILLING" />

Is there something that I might be doing wrong ?

Feel free to request any additional info !

Answer 1

You need your app to have targetSdk=23 (or greater) so Google API knows you support Runtime permissions. The tutorial and video on this page is pretty good. Once you support runtime permissions, they will be asked for when they are needed, not when you download your app.