Bulletin: The Android SDK adds the AD_ID permission

Background

In early 2022, Google announced a change to the behavior of Google Play Services and fetching of the Android Advertising ID.

According to the announcement, apps targeting Android 13 (API 33) and above will have to declare a Google Play services normal permission in their manifest file in order to get access to the device’s Advertising ID.

The permission is granted to the app at install time and does not trigger any user interaction.

What's changing

Starting with AppsFlyer Android SDK V6.8.0, the AD_ID permission is declared in the SDK's AndroidManifest.xml. When the app is built, the SDK’s manifest merges with your app’s manifest by default, and the permission is added even if the app doesn’t explicitly declare the permission. If the permission exists in both the app and the SDK, this works just fine–there will be no collision.

• If you are using SDK V6.8.0 and have the AD_ID permission in your app’s Manifest, you can optionally remove it from the manifest and let the SDK add it for you.
• If you are using SDK version older than V6.8.0, and your app is targeting Android 13 (API 33) and above, you should add the AD_ID permission to your app in order to allow the SDK to gain access to the Advertising ID.

• Child-directed apps: According to Google’s Policy, apps that target children must not transmit the Advertising ID. If you're building an app for children and you are using SDK V6.8.0 and above, you must revoke the AD_ID permission. See developer instructions here.