Where are app permissions?
Every system that has an app permission list keeps it within two taps — but what it is called depends entirely on whose phone you are holding. We read the settings tree of all 43 systems in the catalogue and recorded where each one keeps it.
What each system calls it
9 of the 43 operating systems in our catalogue have this setting, and between them they use three different labels for it:
| Name on screen | Systems |
|---|---|
| Permission manager | 4 |
| App Permissions | 2 |
| App permissions | 2 |
| Permissions | 1 |
The most common is Permission manager, on 4 of the 9. If that is not the word on your screen, the table above is the rest of the vocabulary to try.
Some of those rows differ only in capitalisation — 4 spellings for three actual names. We have kept them apart because that is what is printed on the screen, and a settings search that matches case will tell them apart too.
Where it lives on each system
These are the shortest paths from the first settings screen on the newest release of each system. Every one of them is within two taps of the first settings screen.
| System | Path | Taps |
|---|---|---|
| Firefox OS Firefox OS 2.5 | App Permissions | 1 |
| Android 17 | Privacy › Permission manager | 2 |
| Google TV 14 | Apps › Permissions | 2 |
| HarmonyOS 6.0 | Privacy › Permission manager | 2 |
| KaiOS 3.0 | Privacy & Security › App permissions | 2 |
| Meta Quest v81 | Apps › App Permissions | 2 |
| One UI 9 | Security and privacy › Permission manager | 2 |
| OxygenOS 16 | Security and privacy › Permission manager | 2 |
| Wear OS 7 | Apps & notifications › App permissions | 2 |
Each system name above opens the real menu in the simulator, so you can walk the path before you touch your own device.
Why the names came out this way
Permission manager frames it as administration: a tool for going through a list. App permissions frames it as a property of the apps. The difference sounds academic until you try to search for it, at which point one word in the wrong order returns nothing.
This screen is the single most useful one in a privacy review, because it is the only place that answers the question backwards — not “what can this app do” but “who has the microphone”.
Find it on your own device
If your system is not in the table, or the label on your screen is different again, there are three ways through it:
- Search every system at once for a setting by name — it looks inside all 43 trees, not just the one you are holding.
- Open your own system in the settings simulator and click to the screen without changing anything real.
- Follow the step-by-step guide to locking a device, or see where that setting lives on every system.
Related settings in the same part of the menu:
All of it comes from the same catalogue: 43 systems, 135 versions, published as an open dataset.
Try it yourself, on the real menusOpen any of 43 operating systems in your browser and walk the Settings tree exactly as it appears on the device. No download, no account.Frequently asked questions
Where are app permissions on most systems?
On 9 of the 9 systems that have it, within two taps of the first settings screen. The most common label is “Permission manager”, used by 4 of them. The table above gives the exact path for each system.
Why can I not find it by searching my settings?
Because settings search matches the label your system uses, and there are three different labels in use for this one setting. Searching for the word your previous device used is the single most common reason a setting appears to be missing.
How many systems have this setting at all?
9 of the 43 operating systems we catalogue. The rest either have no hardware for it or fold the behaviour into something else, which is why a feature that feels universal often is not.