Android could shift to revocable "a la carte" permissions just easily, and could ease the transition by granting sets of permissions for old apps, but substituting, for example, an empty Contacts database for the real one if the user opts out of that permission.

Google couldn't even argue that getting fake data is harmful, as long as the data is forthrightly null or unavailable. Location apps have to deal with the lack of location data. Apps that access SMS have to deal with devices that don't get SMS messages.

I hope alternative Android distributions mature to the point that some OEMs will choose to provide more-private "remixes" of Android based on these distributions and on ecosystem partners like DDG.