Android App Permissions for the Garmin Connect App
The Garmin Connect app for Android needs specific phone permissions in order to maximize the features of your Garmin device. In an effort to provide better transparency for these permission requests, we have detailed the purpose for each below.
Google will control the way permissions are named. The way they are named does not necessarily reflect the way the Garmin Connect app uses them.
Calendar
Allows smart notifications to send calendar event notifications to the Garmin device.
Camera
Allows the "Find My Phone" feature on compatible watches to use the LED flash as an alert.
Used if you select "Take Photo" or "Camera" when adding a photo to an activity or changing the picture on your Garmin Connect profile.
Contacts
Allows you to send LiveTrack invitations and Incident Detection messages to phone contacts.
Allows the app to interact with third-party accounts/apps.
Device ID & Call Information
Used for smart notifications to verify if the user has accepted or denied a call before sending the notification.
Used by the "Find My Phone" feature to ensure the alert is sent to the correct phone.
Location
Required for device pairing (Android requirement to access the hardware identifiers of nearby external devices via Bluetooth scans).
Used to search for nearby Segments and Golf Courses.
Used to pull local weather information.
Allows your location to be displayed on Course and Segment maps.
Phone
Allows smart notifications to send phone call notifications to the Garmin device.
Allows the user to directly dial Golf Courses from within course information screens.
Used for smart notifications to verify if the user has accepted or denied a call before sending the notification.
Used by the "Find My Phone" feature to ensure the alert is sent to the correct phone.
Storage
Allows the app to create a temporary file on the phone during the syncing process, containing the data received from the Garmin device, before uploading data to the Garmin Connect website.
Allows access to photos when adding a photo to an activity or changing the picture on your Garmin Connect profile.
SMS
Allows smart notifications to send SMS notifications to the Garmin device.
"OTHER" App Permissions
Access Bluetooth Settings
Used to verify if the Garmin device is connected.
Control Vibration
Used for "Find My Phone" feature.
Download Files Without Notification
Used to allow background downloads for device software updates.
Draw Over Other Apps
Allows smart notifications to be sent to the Garmin device when third-party apps are open and Garmin Connect app is running in the background.
Full Network Access
Provides the Garmin Connect app with internet access.
Google Play License Check
Used to ensure that the user has the most up to date Google Maps and other Google Framework services used within the app, to prevent crashes occurring for users with outdated services.
Prevent Phone From Sleeping
Used during Bluetooth pairing to prevent a phone entering Sleep Mode from disabling Bluetooth and causing the pairing to fail.
Read Google Service Configuration
Required for the Garmin Connect app to use Google Services Framework, used throughout the Garmin Connect app.
Receive Data From Internet
Used to access the internet to provide account/software notifications.
Run at Startup
Allows a device with smart notifications to reconnect and receive notifications after a phone restart, without requiring the app to be manually opened.
Send Sticky Broadcast
Allows the user to add smart notifications from third-party apps (i.e. Facebook notifications).
