Android: get user ID without requiring scary (for user) permissions?

If you use Google Play Services you can get the account type and account name without any extra permissions.

First, add the following dependency to build.gradle:

java

compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth:8.4.0'

Next, launch the account chooser intent:

java

Intent intent = AccountPicker.newChooseAccountIntent(null, null,
    new String[]{GoogleAuthUtil.GOOGLE_ACCOUNT_TYPE},
    false, null, null, null, null);

try {
  startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_CODE_EMAIL);
} catch (ActivityNotFoundException e) {
  // This device may not have Google Play Services installed.
  // TODO: do something else
}

Finally, override onActivityResult to get the account type and account name:

java

@Override 
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
  if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE_EMAIL && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
    String accountName = data.getStringExtra(AccountManager.KEY_ACCOUNT_NAME);
    String accountType = data.getStringExtra(AccountManager.KEY_ACCOUNT_TYPE);
    // TODO: do something with the accountName
    return;
  }
  super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}

source: https://stackoverflow.com/a/19444640/1048340