The update installs while you sleep, and by breakfast something is off. The alarm that should have gone off did not, your smartwatch has gone silent, and the weather app swears you are in a city three states away. Nothing is broken, exactly. A handful of permissions just quietly changed, and the apps that depended on them stopped working without a word.
App permissions after an update are the usual suspects when features vanish for no obvious reason. Both iOS and Android tighten privacy controls with each version, and they also auto-reset permissions for apps you have not opened in a while, so an update can leave perfectly good apps missing the access they need. Here are the 10 permissions to recheck first when something stops working, and why each one matters.
The 10 Permissions to Recheck
- Location: precise and background access reset
- Notifications: silently paused or turned off
- Background activity: battery limits kill syncing
- Notification access: smartwatch and companion apps
- Accessibility services: automation and password apps
- Local network: casting, printing, smart home
- Nearby devices: Bluetooth wearables and trackers
- Photos: full library versus selected only
- Microphone and camera: calls, scans, dictation
- Exact alarms: alarm and reminder timing
1. Location Access
Location is the most common casualty. An update can downgrade an app from precise to approximate location, or from always to only while using, which quietly breaks maps, weather, ride-hailing, and location-sharing features.
Open the app’s location setting and confirm both the accuracy and the background permission match what it needs. A navigation or delivery app usually wants precise location, and a few genuinely need background access to keep working when the screen is off.
2. Notifications
Silent notifications are the update problem people notice most. After a major update, notification permission can reset or be paused, so messages, alerts, and reminders simply stop arriving even though the app is running fine.
Check that notifications are still allowed for the app, and that they are not muted or filtered into a summary. This is worth ruling out first whenever an app seems to have gone quiet after an update.
3. Background Activity and Battery Limits
Sometimes the permission is fine and the background is the problem. Updates and aggressive battery settings can restrict what an app does when you are not looking at it, so syncing, fitness tracking, and delivery updates stall until you open the app.
Look for a battery or background-activity setting and set important apps to unrestricted. This bites hardest on some Android phones, where the maker’s battery optimization can silence apps even after you have allowed notifications.
4. Notification Access for Companion Apps
Your smartwatch relies on a permission most people never see. Companion apps for wearables use a special notification access setting to mirror alerts to the watch, and that access is easy to lose in an update.
If your watch or fitness band stops showing phone notifications after an update, look for a notification access or notification listener setting and re-enable the companion app there. It is separate from the normal notifications toggle.
5. Accessibility Services
This one powers more than you would guess. Password managers that autofill, automation tools, and assistive apps often run through accessibility services, and some updates switch that access off automatically.
If autofill suddenly stops or an automation quits firing, open the accessibility settings and confirm the app is still enabled. Because accessibility access is powerful, the system is quick to revoke it, so it is a prime suspect after a system update.
6. Local Network Access
On iPhones, a single permission controls a lot of home tech. Local network access lets an app find devices on your Wi-Fi, and without it casting to a TV, printing, and controlling smart-home gear all quietly fail.
If an app can no longer see your speaker, printer, or smart bulbs after an update, check its local network permission. It is one of the least obvious settings and one of the most common reasons home devices stop responding.
7. Nearby Devices and Bluetooth
Android split Bluetooth into its own modern permission, and updates can leave it off. The nearby devices permission is what lets an app connect to wearables, trackers, headphones, and car systems, so losing it cuts those links.
When a Bluetooth accessory will not pair or a tracker stops updating, confirm the app still has nearby devices or Bluetooth permission. Grant it, then reconnect the device to restore the link.
8. Photos and Media Library
Both platforms now let you share only some photos, and updates lean toward that limited access. An app set to selected photos instead of the full library can fail to upload, back up, or attach images you expect it to see.
If a photo upload or backup breaks after an update, check whether the app has full library access or only a handful of chosen images, and widen it if the app genuinely needs more.
9. Microphone and Camera
Voice and video features depend on two permissions that updates like to reset. A revoked microphone breaks calls, voice notes, and dictation, and a revoked camera breaks scanning, video calls, and photo capture inside apps.
If a call has no sound from your end or a scanner shows a black screen, the microphone or camera permission is the likely culprit. Re-grant it, and consider whether you want the app to keep that access at all.
10. Exact Alarms
A newer Android permission catches people off guard. Apps that need to fire at a precise moment, like alarms, timers, and medication reminders, require an exact alarm permission, and an update can leave it unset so alerts arrive late or not at all.
If an alarm or reminder stops being reliable after an update, look for an alarms and reminders permission for the app and allow it. For anything you truly depend on waking you, this is the setting to confirm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do app permissions reset after an OS update?
Two reasons. Updates tighten privacy defaults, so an app can be downgraded to less access, and both iOS and Android automatically reset permissions for apps you have not opened in a while. Occasionally an actively used app is wrongly flagged as unused, which revokes its permissions unexpectedly.
How do I check app permissions after updating my phone?
On iPhone, open Settings, then Privacy and Security, and review each permission category or tap an app directly. On Android, open Settings, then Privacy, then Permission Manager, or open an app’s info page, and Apple’s privacy guide covers the iPhone side. Recheck location, notifications, background activity, and any special access the app relies on.
iOS vs Android: which resets app permissions more after updates?
Both do it, in slightly different ways. Android is known for auto-resetting permissions on unused apps and for aggressive battery limits that mute background activity, while iOS trims access like location and local network and resets unused apps too. The fixes are similar: recheck the specific permission the broken feature needs.
Why did my notifications stop working after an update?
Usually the notification permission reset or was paused, or a battery setting restricted the app in the background. Confirm notifications are allowed and not muted, then set the app’s background activity to unrestricted. For a smartwatch, also recheck the separate notification access permission for its companion app.
What is the exact alarms permission and why does it matter?
Exact alarms is an Android permission that lets an app trigger at a precise time, which alarms, timers, and medication reminders depend on. If it is not granted after an update, those alerts can arrive late or fail. Enable it in the app’s alarms and reminders setting for anything time-critical.
The Bottom Line
When a feature breaks after an update and the app itself looks fine, a permission almost always changed underneath it. Start with location, notifications, and background activity, then work down to the special ones like local network, accessibility, and exact alarms depending on what stopped working. A two-minute pass through the permission list usually fixes what the update quietly undid. For more on keeping your devices set up the way you want, browse YouGottaRead’s Tech section, including our guide to the privacy toggles worth checking on a smart TV.
