Request Permission at Runtime for Android Marshmal

Question

I am testing my app on Marshmallow 6.0 and it's getting force closed for the android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, even if it is defined in the Manifest already. Somewhere I have read that if I request permission at runtime then it would not force close your application. I have read this android document also, which is for requesting runtime permission.

So, I came to know that we can request a permission like below which is mentioned in the android document.

// Here, thisActivity is the current activity
if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(thisActivity,
                Manifest.permission.READ_CONTACTS)
        != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {

    // Should we show an explanation?
    if (ActivityCompat.shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale(thisActivity,
            Manifest.permission.READ_CONTACTS)) {

        // Show an expanation to the user *asynchronously* -- don't block
        // this thread waiting for the user's response! After the user
        // sees the explanation, try again to request the permission.

    } else {

        // No explanation needed, we can request the permission.

        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(thisActivity,
                new String[]{Manifest.permission.READ_CONTACTS},
                MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_READ_CONTACTS);

        // MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_READ_CONTACTS is an
        // app-defined int constant. The callback method gets the
        // result of the request.
    }
}

The above code has a callback method onRequestPermissionsResult which gets the result.

@Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode,
        String permissions[], int[] grantResults) {
    switch (requestCode) {

     }
}

My question is where to exactly request the permission to user? Should we use the requesting permission at start of the app or should we do it as when the permission is required?

Answer 1

if ( ActivityCompat.shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale (this, Manifest.permission.CAMERA) ||
                ActivityCompat.shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale (this,
                        Manifest.permission.RECORD_AUDIO) ) {
            Toast.makeText (this,
                    R.string.permissions_needed,
                    Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show ();
        } else {
            ActivityCompat.requestPermissions (
                    this,
                    new String[]{Manifest.permission.CAMERA, Manifest.permission.RECORD_AUDIO},
                    CAMERA_MIC_PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE);
        }

Answer 2

Do like this

private static final int  REQUEST_ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION = 111;

In your onCreate

boolean hasPermissionLocation = (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(getApplicationContext(),
            Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED);
    if (!hasPermissionLocation) {
        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(ThisActivity.this,
                new String[]{Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION},
                REQUEST_ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION);
    }

then check result

   @Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, String[] permissions, int[] grantResults) {
    super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
    switch (requestCode)
    {

        case REQUEST_ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION: {
            if (grantResults.length > 0 && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED)
            {
                Toast.makeText(ThisActivity.this, "Permission granted.", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

                //reload my activity with permission granted
                finish();
                startActivity(getIntent());

            } else
            {
                Toast.makeText(ThisActivity.this, "The app was not allowed to get your location. Hence, it cannot function properly. Please consider granting it this permission", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            }
        }

    }

}

Answer 3

In my opinion, there is no one correct answer to your question. I strongly suggest you to look at this official permissions patterns page.

Couple of things suggested by Google :

"Your permissions strategy depends on the clarity and importance of the permission type you are requesting. These patterns offer different ways of introducing permissions to the user."

"Critical permissions should be requested up-front. Secondary permissions may be requested in-context."

"Permissions that are less clear should provide education about what the permission involves, whether done up-front or in context."

This illustration might give you better understanding.

Maybe the most crucial thing here is that whether you ask the permission up-front or in the context, you should always keep in mind that these permissions can be revoked anytime by the user (e.g. your app is still running, in background).

You should make sure that your app doesn't crash just because you asked the permission on the very beginning of the app and assumed that user didn't change his/her preference about that permission.

Answer 4

In general, request needed permissions it as soon as you need them. This way you can inform the user why you need the permission and handle permission denies much easier.

Think of scenarios where the user revokes the permission while your app runs: If you request it at startup and never check it later this could lead to unexpected behaviour or exceptions.

Answer 5

calling this function we can allow user to open dialog for asking permission to allow camera and record Audio.

    if ( ActivityCompat.shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale (this, Manifest.permission.CAMERA) ||
            ActivityCompat.shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale (this,
                    Manifest.permission.RECORD_AUDIO) ) {
        Toast.makeText (this,
                R.string.permissions_needed,
                Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show ();
    } else {
        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions (
                this,
                new String[]{Manifest.permission.CAMERA, Manifest.permission.RECORD_AUDIO},
                CAMERA_MIC_PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE);
    }

Answer 6

A good explanation and HowTo can be found here:

https://inthecheesefactory.com/blog/things-you-need-to-know-about-android-m-permission-developer-edition/en

I wrote this code to check and request the permissions at runtime in a BaseActivity.class which is parent of every other Activity.class I implemented:

public static final int PERMISSION_REQUEST = 42;
public static final int MULTIPLE_PERMISSION_REQUEST = 43;

//Marshmallow Permission Model
public boolean requestPermission(String permission /* Manifest.permission...*/) {
    if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this,
            permission) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        if (Utils.hasMarshmallow())
            ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this,
                    new String[]{permission}, PERMISSION_REQUEST
            );
        else {
            requestPermissions(new String[]{permission},
                    PERMISSION_REQUEST);
        }
        return false;
    } else {
        return true;
    }
}

public boolean requestPermission(String... permissions) {
    final List<String> permissionsList = new ArrayList<String>();

    for (String perm : permissions) {
        addPermission(permissionsList, perm);
    }

    if (permissionsList.size() > 0) {
        if (Utils.hasMarshmallow())
            requestPermissions(permissionsList.toArray(new String[permissionsList.size()]),
                    MULTIPLE_PERMISSION_REQUEST);
        else
            ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, permissionsList.toArray(new String[permissionsList.size()]),
                    MULTIPLE_PERMISSION_REQUEST);
        return false;
    } else
        return true;
}


private boolean addPermission(List<String> permissionsList, String permission) {
    if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, permission) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        permissionsList.add(permission);
        // Check for Rationale Option
        if (Utils.hasMarshmallow())
            if (!shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale(permission))
                return false;
    }
    return true;
}

@Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode,
                                       String permissions[], int[] grantResults) {
    switch (requestCode) {
        case PERMISSION_REQUEST:
        case MULTIPLE_PERMISSION_REQUEST: {
            // If request is cancelled, the result arrays are empty.
            if (grantResults.length > 0
                    && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {

                // permission was granted, yay! Do the
                // contacts-related task you need to do.

            } else {

                // permission denied, boo! Disable the
                // functionality that depends on this permission.
            }
            return;
        }

        // other 'case' lines to check for other
        // permissions this app might request
    }
}

Simply example call:

activity.requestPermission(Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE);

Return result will let you know if the permission is already granted or not.