You mean fabrication?

Apparently just like OP, you didn't read the article either. Just because the app doesn't ask for permission in the manifest doesn't mean it can't be acquired at runtime. It's very publicly documented [0].

So, no. Not a "hallucination".

[0] https://documentation.onesignal.com/docs/en/location-opt-in-...

How certain are you of that?

That appears to be about providing a message to the user before requesting permissions.

However, it appears even permissions you allow your app to request still need to be declared beforehand? https://developer.android.com/training/permissions/requestin...

Regardless, people are reporting mixed info on whether the app declares location access: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557010

I checked all versions. Maybe, just maybe, the app was changed in response? Hmmm, I wonder...

https://imgur.com/a/SNJL4XO

This is incorrect. On Android, you must do BOTH to actually get location APIs to work.

Well, I will argue that you are incorrect and do one better and ask why a Huawei SDK [0] is embedded in the app beyond the location tracking?

[0] https://www.sambent.com/the-white-house-app-has-huawei-spywa...