On Android at least this seems to be the case. Bluetooth leaks data that can be used to locate you, so Android just ties the two permissions together.

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/160479/why-do-i-...

IMO this is counterintuitive for users. It would be like telling people on windows “This app wants to wipe your C drive” every time an app asks for admin permissions - it could wipe your C drive, but that’s not what it’s asking for. IMO the permissions should be separate, but the approval modal should note that info about leaking location.

>IMO this is counterintuitive for users. It would be like telling people on windows “This app wants to wipe your C drive” every time an app asks for admin permissions - it could wipe your C drive, but that’s not what it’s asking for.

Well the flip side is that they don't warn the users enough, and they get roasted by the media for "not sufficiently warning the users" or "being complicit in user tracking" or whatever.

By granting an app a permission, it can then do that thing. There's no intent detection possible. Any app with full filesystem access could wipe your C drive. A new Bluetooth API and access model needs to be devised to fix the information leakage present in scanning and beacons -- how can we prevent fixed-position radio beacons from being picked up by people scanning for new gadgets?