The problem I have with this is that breaking down by category is not how I think about security. I break it down by severity. I don't think "can this app acces

The problem I have with this is that breaking down by category is not how I think about security. I break it down by severity. I don't think "can this app access my microphone?" I think, "Can it access my microphone while the app is not in the foreground? Can it do it while the screen is off? Can it run at startup and do this without me knowing? Same for location access, various other things. Google's change makes all those the same, because they come in the same "category". It might be a simple way to think about security, but it is not a secure way. What I really want is a tier of permissions that I can totally trust. I want to be able to install any random app from any random developer and know it's not got ability to harm me. This change seems to ruin that. They can install it with lite permissions and then upgrade them later and I won't be notified. Most especially I want this for my wife, mother and children. They need simple instructions: only ever install apps with permissions like X. But again, this change ruins that. Permissions like X get escalated to permissions like Y without notification. I'm really not sure what you can tell anybody to keep them safe now other than "don't install apps. Which is probably what I will start doing.