Bruce, it depends on the app, and the permissions too. When you get a smart phone, you have to have a Google account, with GMail. To get the Google account, you have to give Google permission to access every part of your phone, including camera access. Almost all app stores, whether it's the Google one or not, have an agreement with Google. Often, even if you turn off camera, or any other permission to an app, including deletion of the app, the agreement with Google kicks in, and through Google, they have the right to turn things back on, and even re-install an app. Other apps, like the ones that come on a phone, also have full permissions to access your phone, and like Google, they have agreements with other app stores.
Notice, if you try to install an app directly from a website, you'll get a popup telling you it's not from the Google app store? You can click to Proceed Anyway. That means that Google has an agreement with that app store, even if you're not downloading it through the Google app store. Google is in control.
Most smart phones are set to the default of saving EVERYTHING to The Cloud. You can lose your phone, (if geo locating your phone fails) go buy a new one, and through your Google account, restore EVERYTHING from the lost phone, onto the new one, including pictures/videos you've taken, all downloads, all data, etc.
Some of the apps are good, non intrusive, and give you decent privacy options. Others are very intrusive, and don't give you many privacy options. Yet others don't give you any privacy options at all. MOST of the kid games are ad based games. You play awhile, then watch ads, then play some more. It used to be the kid sites, and kid games were safe, and had full privacy, while the ads were geared to kids. More and more, they're not. They're slipping in ads that are not age appropriate. Parental controls, and blocking used to be very effective too. Now, not so much.
While I'm halfway decent when it comes to privacy on computers, smart phones are totally different. Even people that are good with phones, are finding they're having trouble in regards to privacy issues on the phones, finding the hidden ones, and getting them fully blocked, even after deleting them.
If you take the time to go into your settings, check out all the apps, and either close, or uninstall the ones you don't want, it won't be long that you'll get an update. After the update, you'll see that many of the ones you closed, or uninstalled are turned back on, or reinstalled and turned on. I discovered this simply because of battery usage. With all the garbage I don't use, turned off, I get great battery life. I know when it's updated again, because my battery life goes down significantly. At least once a month I go through, and turn off, or uninstall things I don't want. At least once a month I get an update. It's an uphill battle.
The only ads I get for the few games I play is ads for more games. And for $10 I could get rid of those.
But don't put anything in a mailbox that hasn't come through the PO. Highly illegal.
