Key takeaways on mobile apps and privacy
As smartphone adoption 
The most common Android app permissions allow access to a smartphone's internet connectivity. The average app requested five permissions before installation, and the two most common permissions sought by Android apps help those apps access the internet. These include the “Full network access” permission (used by 83% of apps), which allows an app to access whatever network the device is connected to at the time, as well as the “View network connections” permission (used by 69% of apps). The latter type of permission enables an app to see what networks the device is able to access. The third- and fourth-most-common permissions allow apps to access memory or available storage on the phone, a feature apps would need in order to save content to the device.
A majority of Android apps we analyzed were free. Some 82% of apps in the Google Play Store from June through September 2014 were free to download, while 18% required purchasing before being able to download. On average, free apps ask for two more permissions than paid apps (six permissions vs. four).
Note: Details on the full methodology of the report are available here.
