It is true to some extent since Marshmellow. But apps can tell when their permissions are denied, so some of them straight out refuse to start unless you give i

It is true to some extent since Marshmellow. But apps can tell when their permissions are denied, so some of them straight out refuse to start unless you give it all the permissions it wants. This is especially problematic when a new version of an app holds your data hostage and refuses to start unless you give it a ridiculous new permission. The Play Store has no requirement that apps degrade gracefully when permissions are denied. So the result is usually the same as pre-Marshmellow. You just get more annoying popups. I miss Cyanogenmod where I could deny a permission (e.g. contacts) and the app would have no idea it was denied (it would receive an empty list of contacts).