Yes, and you are also unwittingly allowing them to place advertisements all around your screen that distracts you. Yes, you do have a control on that. You can now choose which permissions to grant access to an app. That way, you can not only prevent your apps from gathering information you aren’t comfortable sharing but also make your life a hell lot easier than it currently is.
How do we know how much access apps have? According to Sean Sullivan, security advisor, F-Secure Labs, specifics are difficult to determine. In theory, an app can acquire tremendous amount of details. In practice, numerous permissions can go unused. Because of the way in which Android works, all potential permissions must be approved at the time of installation rather than when a feature requiring the permission is first used (as it is with iOS).The latest version of Android includes options to remove/disable permissions from apps. So for example, after installing but before running an app, users could disable permissions they aren’t comfortable with providing. While you would no longer be able to do a “music search” via the app, but then you’ll also know that the app cannot use the permission for other functions.
One needs to go through each of the permission, in detail before letting the app carry on or disabling certain functions. For instance, a shopping app might need access to your camera and the logical answer for such a permission would be based on the fact that lots of these apps allow you to search for items through pictures or via scanning barcodes. However, many ask for permissions which have no relevance to its function. Simple apps that can be downloaded to allow you to use your camera flash as torchlight or your phone as a mirror are supposed to have basic functions — like lighting up the LED of phone’s flash or turning on your front camera. There’s no reason for such apps to have access to your messages or contacts. So, when you see your app asking for irrelevant permissions, go ahead, disable them.