AndroidCentral.com has recently compiled a list of some application permissions and what they actually are. Some of them sound quite scary, making us think that they would steal our valuable data.

Services that cost you money – make phone calls
Some apps need to make phone calls, such as dialer replacements, Google Voice or anything tied to your phone dialer. Be suspicious if you want to install an app that has no business setting a phone call but needs that permission, such as a ringtone app.

Your personal information – read contact data
This permission sounds the scariest, but some apps need this, such as any messaging app, a home screen contacts widget, and also apps like Twitter or Foursquare. Apps that don’t have any social aspect don’t need this permission.

Phone calls – read phone state and identity
Some apps need to know if your phone is about to ring, for example if they need to freeze what they’re doing or turn over audio control back to the OS when there’s an incoming call. But you have to be careful about such apps as they can read and send your IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) and other identifying information back to some random server.

Check out the full post about these permissions.