What is usage access on Android?

Usage access is an Android special permission that lets an app see which apps you use, when you open them and how long they stay on screen.

Android does not grant it automatically. Android’s documentation notes that apps need the PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS permission, which you turn on for each app in Settings. [1] On most phones you find it by searching Settings for Usage access, often under Special app access. Menu names vary by phone maker.

Why it matters on Android

Screen-time data is personal. It can show your daily routine, which apps you depend on and when you are awake. Only give usage access to apps whose job needs it, such as screen-time, focus or app lock apps. Check the list now and then and turn it off for apps you no longer use.

How Applore uses it

Applore asks for usage access to:

• enforce App usage limits, Focus Mode and Paused Apps in digital wellbeing;
• show screen time and app launches, and list apps you rarely use;
• help App Lock notice when a locked app opens. This is App Lock’s default method; the accessibility service is optional.

Usage information stays on your phone and is not sent to analytics or advertisers. See why Applore asks for each permission for the full list.

How to see which apps have it

Open Settings, search for Usage access (often Settings › Apps › Special app access › Usage access), and read the list. An app that has no reason to track which apps you open, such as a game or a torch app, should not have it. Turn it off by tapping the app and switching Permit usage access off. Removing usage access from Applore only stops app limits, focus mode and App Lock’s default method: it does not delete anything you saved.

Related permissions

Usage access is often confused with the accessibility service, which reads window events and is much broader, and with notification access, which reads the notifications themselves. Monitoring apps often hold more than one of them, which is why Applore’s Safety Check lists all three together.