Why I'm Reconsidering

[SulkyAndroid17]

I think the permission screen at install is enough. Common sense will still be the best defense. Trust all the permissions or none of them. I'm not going to believe that an app would only try to steal from me some of the time or in only one way.

Developers could start checking permissions at run time. If denied a permission, the app would close. Then we're right back where we started. Allowing all requested permissions to use an app, or none of them.

It would be nice if "full internet access" and "google advertisments" were seperate permissions because I often block internet access

Not all ads are google adverts. Airpush comes to mind as one that's not. Displayed ads are often just custom webviews loading content from some api.

 

[Sandgoose]

@Rxpert83
ah.. where I read the story it was implied google removed it because it broke some apps (I read advertisments) and they speculated the real reason was users blocking data collection, I again assumed for ads.

Block ads and allow internet

I admit that did not originally occur to me but mainly because I don't run any "internet" apps apart from maybe browser while almost all my apps require internet permissions.

ads are often just custom webviews loading content from some api

if the ads are an api then disabling an apps internet access wouldn't matter? the api could just fetch the ad without the app ever talking directly to the internet right?

Trust all the permissions or none of them

I sort of agree, but if I did that I wouldnt install anything at all as I can't help wonder in the back of my mind what app could be doing in the background, do google check apps that close?

 

[Rxpert83]

@Rxpert83
ah.. where I read the story it was implied google removed it because it broke some apps (I read advertisments) and they speculated the real reason was users blocking data collection, I again assumed for ads.

I admit that did not originally occur to me but mainly because I don't run any "internet" apps apart from maybe browser while almost all my apps require internet permissions.

if the ads are an api then disabling an apps internet access wouldn't matter? the api could just fetch the ad without the app ever talking directly to the internet right?

I sort of agree, but if I did that I wouldnt install anything at all as I can't help wonder in the back of my mind what app could be doing in the background, do google check apps that close?

The first reply from this Google + thread is from an android engineer explaining things

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z12oszyavuqhxpaes23gdt2xqu2lthwr204

 

[zipred]

Step back away from laptops and smartphones, look at the big picture. Privacy is but a myth.

That horse left the barn decades ago. The insurance industry and big data know more about us than any tech company. I don't like it, but it's a fact.

Still don't believe it... worried... get off the net NOW

 

[SulkyAndroid17]

if the ads are an api then disabling an apps internet access wouldn't matter? the api could just fetch the ad without the app ever talking directly to the internet right?

That data still has to come from somewhere, right?

I sort of agree, but if I did that I wouldnt install anything at all as I can't help wonder in the back of my mind what app could be doing in the background, do google check apps that close?

No matter how many locks you put on the door, bad people will do bad things without your consent. So, implementing permissions in this way for security feels like I'm hiding from the issue. If an app crossed the line, I'm not going to tolerate it by turning off a few permissions. I'm deleting it.

What about the apps with perfectly legit permissions that use all of them in perfectly legit ways, but also secretly uses them with bad intentions? It'd be hard to stop them.

A panel to see what apps have accessed which permissions and when would be better to me. Then no apps could hide. If an app accessed a permission when I was doing nothing related to that permission, I would know something was going on. Not a perfect solution, but neither is App Ops.

 

[SkyJackpot]

You thought correctly - the iOS App Store does not tell you this stuff at all.

Because I'm completely ignorant on iOS devices, do they even tell you permissions on app installs? I thought not.

"XPrivacy Installer" in the Google Play store allows you to feed for information to Android applications which you feel are requesting unnecessary information.

Like a teenager leaving a fake unhidden diary around filled with fake information about events which happened and personal information, it gives them all the information they want without sacrificing your actual real data. This also gives you the advantage of not having to use another application to restrict certain permissions which might stop the application from working.