---
title: "Mobile App Scanning Process"
slug: "mobile-app-scanning-process"
updated: 2026-01-20T02:57:31Z
published: 2026-01-20T02:57:31Z
canonical: "docs.bigid.com/mobile-app-scanning-process"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bigid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Mobile App Scanning Process

### Overview

The **Mobile App Scanning Process** in BigID identifies **SDKs** and **permissions** within your mobile application to provide complete visibility into how your app interacts with user data.

This automated scan is the foundation of the **Mobile Consent Management Platform (Mobile CMP)**, allowing you to build accurate and compliant consent banners tailored to your app’s actual data activity.

BigID supports scanning for both **iOS** and **Android** apps, analyzing the application package you upload (IPA/APK) or the metadata from your connected app store.

---

### How It Works

The scanning engine performs a deep inspection of your app to identify:

- **Installed SDKs** (e.g., analytics, advertising, crash reporting, social login, etc.)
- **Requested permissions** (e.g., location, camera, contacts, push notifications)
- **Automatic categorization** of SDKs into consent categories.

---

### Adding a New Mobile App

To initiate a new scan:

1. **Go to:** *Consent → Mobile CMP → Apps*
2. **Click “Add New → Mobile App”**
3. **Provide App Details and Upload File:**
  - Choose *iOS* or *Android*
  - App name and description
  - Upload the **APK (Android)** or **IPA (iOS)** file,
4. **Click on Add And Scan** – BigID will analyze the app and display scan progress.

Once complete, you’ll see a detailed **scan report** showing all SDKs and permissions discovered.

---

### Reviewing Scan Results

After the scan completes, BigID generates a **summary report** that presents two distinct views — one for **SDKs** and another for **Permissions**. You can switch between them by selecting the **SDKs** or **Permissions** tabs at the top of the scan results page.

#### **SDK View**

In the SDK view, you’ll see a categorized list of all SDKs detected within the app. Each SDK is automatically classified into a consent category (e.g., *Necessary*, *Statistics*, *Marketing*, *Preference*, *Unclassified*) and grouped by function.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/a1b4dbb6-204b-4038-905b-11451e3058a8/Images/Documentation/Screenshot%202025-10-16%20at%202.13.32%E2%80%AFPM.png)

**Table Columns:**

| Column | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **SDK Name** | The name of the SDK detected in the app (e.g., Apache HTTP Legacy, AppsFlyer, Facebook Login). |
| **App Version** | The app version analyzed during the scan. |
| **Category** | The consent category automatically assigned by BigID (*Necessary*, *Statistics*, *Marketing*, etc.). |
| **Vendor** | The organization or provider associated with the SDK (e.g., Apache, AppsFlyer, Meta, Google). |

Each SDK entry can be expanded to view additional metadata, including package name, data endpoints, and related SDK dependencies.

#### **Permissions View**

In the Permissions view, BigID lists all permissions requested by the mobile app and categorizes them based on the type of data they access or affect.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/a1b4dbb6-204b-4038-905b-11451e3058a8/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2025-10-16 at 2.15.22 PM.png)

**Table Columns:**

| Column | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Permission Name** | The system-level permission declared in the app (e.g., `android.permission.CAMERA`, `android.permission.INTERNET`). |
| **App Version** | The app version analyzed during the scan. |
| **Category** | The data access category automatically assigned by BigID (*Device details*, *Network*, *Location*, *Notifications*, etc.). |
| **Description** | A short explanation of what the permission allows or how it’s used. |

---

### Next Steps

After completing the scan:

1. **Review and confirm** SDK categories if needed.
2. Proceed to the **Banner Editor** to configure the design of your banner.