Legal & Compliance
Our dedicated team is here to provide the help and answers you need.
Lookout Permissions for Android
At Lookout, we are committed to building products and services that we are proud to share with our family, friends, and people throughout the world. In order to protect your phone from malware and spyware, backup and restore your data, and find your device, Lookout needs access to a number of Android permissions. But, what are Android permissions and why would Lookout need them? In order to access certain data or capabilities on your phone, an app needs to request permissions from you before you install it. When you download an app from the Google Play Store, you can see an outline of exactly what data and capabilities the app wants to access.
On this page, we wanted to explain the permissions we access and provide detailed explanations about why we access them. We hope that by being transparent, you can rest assured that we are a company you can trust.
Permissions
In-app purchases:
We need this permission so you can have the option to upgrade to Lookout Premium within the app. Don’t worry though, there’s no pressure! You can use the free version of our product for as long as you like.
Device & app history:
For Lookout to do its job right and potentially catch a thief in the act, we need to access your device activity and your running apps. We need these permissions to be able to alert you if your battery is running low, if your SIM card was removed, Airplane Mode was enabled, etc., and give you the location of your device in the event of a theft.
Identity:
Lookout needs access to your account information for two reasons: 1. To make the Lookout sign-up process as smooth and easy as possible and 2. If your device is ever lost or stolen and you decide to remotely lock and wipe all of your data from your device, Lookout can delete any important account information remotely.
Contacts/Calendar:
We promise we won’t call your Grandma. We just need access to your contacts so that we can back them up and you can access them at Lookout.com. And we only need access to your calendar if you choose to wipe your device, so that we can delete all of your appointments and reminders.
Location:
When you ask Lookout to locate your phone, we access both GPS and wireless networks to get the best possible location for your phone. Remember that Lookout only accesses your location when you locate it from Lookout.com, and we save it automatically if you have our Signal Flare and Theft Alerts features turned on.
Phone:
We ask for this permission so we can back up your call logs - which is one of our Premium features.
Photos/Media/Files:
In order to backup your photos to Lookout.com so you can have an extra copy of your amazing adventures, we need access to your photos. We also need permission to access your device’s external storage so that we can scan your SD card for malware and spyware that you may have downloaded.
Camera/Microphone:
We ask to use the camera and microphone on your device so we can sound an alarm and use the camera flash to make it easier to find your device with Scream, and also to enable Theft Alerts to take a picture of anyone who tries to unlock your phone, removes your SIM card, enables Airplane Mode, turns your device off or disables Lookout as a Device Administrator.
Device ID & call information:
Lookout needs access to your phone number and device information to be able to identify your unique device and account. We use this information to attach your device to your Lookout account in case you ever need to contact our fantastic support team. We also include your IMEI number on your Account page at Lookout.com in case your device is ever stolen and you need to report it to the police.
