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Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

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Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#241

Post by notsureaboutpg »

JimDabell wrote: post #85
grishka wrote: post #43

I really wish mobile OSes would allow you to grant apps permissions but serve fake data, (that's important!) without giving the app the ability to tell the difference. Just so it appears to the app that you've given the permission, when you in fact have not. This would solve this entire class of problems and then some. So, for example: - App "has" access to contacts, but the system returns that you have none. - App "…

Not quite the same thing, but if you use Sign in with Apple, the application gets an Apple email address, and Apple forwards the email on to you. Facebook Login used to have this as an option too, but stopped years ago.

This is true. I know this because my app was rejected from the Apple Store and we were told all apps with a social sign in component must implement Sign In with Apple.

Implementation process was really easy. Took 1 day. That's really surprising for Apple where developing for their platforms is otherwise a huge chore you don't want to slog through

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#242

Post by [deleted] »

grenoire wrote: post #67
grishka wrote: post #43

I really wish mobile OSes would allow you to grant apps permissions but serve fake data, (that's important!) without giving the app the ability to tell the difference. Just so it appears to the app that you've given the permission, when you in fact have not. This would solve this entire class of problems and then some. So, for example: - App "has" access to contacts, but the system returns that you have none. - App "…

App developers find out about this practice as it gets more commonplace. They add a check for 'empty' data or resolution failures. If these checks notice that you had been providing null or fake data, the app now gives you an intrusive yet pleading popup to please lift the privacy measures. You get annoyed, resenting the fact that your friends are using this piece of garbage. Reluctantly you lift the measures, forget…

[deleted]

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#243

Post by matheusmoreira »

userbinator wrote: post #167
grenoire wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

App developers find out about this practice as it gets more commonplace. They add a check for 'empty' data or resolution failures. If these checks notice that you had been providing null or fake data, the app now gives you an intrusive yet pleading popup to please lift the privacy measures. You get annoyed, resenting the fact that your friends are using this piece of garbage. Reluctantly you lift the measures, forget…

Just like with adblockers and anti-adblockers, you then go one level deeper... It's a cat-and-mouse game. As long as you have full control over your device, you win.

At some point we're going to have to reverse engineer apps and come up with hopefully free software replacements...

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#244

Post by Razengan »

grishka wrote: post #43

I really wish mobile OSes would allow you to grant apps permissions but serve fake data, (that's important!) without giving the app the ability to tell the difference. Just so it appears to the app that you've given the permission, when you in fact have not. This would solve this entire class of problems and then some. So, for example: - App "has" access to contacts, but the system returns that you have none. - App "…

They’d detect it easily and refuse to work.

But iOS 14 let’s you do this for photos at least.

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#245

Post by mxuribe »

Terretta wrote: post #224
retox wrote: post #180

I was told a story about the Dropbox sales team a while back that swore me off using them. They contacted the company I worked at, that didn't have a business contract with Dropbox, offering a great deal and a meeting was quickly arranged. The meeting (which I only heard about secondhand from a good friend) quickly turned into a strong-arm operation. Dropbox had 'detected' that employees at our company were using Dro…

The best answer to this tactic is, “Nice Dropbox you have there. Shame if OneDrive were to happen to it.” The O365 integration with OneDrive is so seamless relative to other options, employees won’t even complain after an initial learning curve. In fact, many will start subscribing to O365 on iOS etc. and start having access to the same content synced across Windows, MacOS, iOS, Xbox, etc. At this point, with employe…

This is an interesting take, and i agree with you. I myself have used dropbox for personal stuff, and onedrive with several of my previous employers for years now. For any person or business that i know who is all-in on microsoft products/services, i recommend to just adopt leveraging oneDrive, and life for them gets easier. (I didn't say better in other ways...but certainly easier.)

In fact, oneDrive is good enough that i signed up my family for the o365 family plan, because the cost is hard to beat (and because my family doesn't care if their machine is windows or linux)... But, when i went to start mixing in my files (vs my partner's and rest of family's files)...I learned that onedrive does __NOT RUN NATIVELY ON LINUX__ ...and linux is my personal daily driver. Hence, while my family, and all of our collective and shared files (including family photos) live on a paid oneDrive account, my stuff (files that really only pertain to me like dev. projects, etc.) live in dropbox, because dropbox runs decent enough on my linux machine. I can not wait for the day when dropbox is NOT the only decent option for linux machines. (Caveat: I am a big fan of nextcloud, but they're not there just yet...hopefully soon though!)

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#246

Post by kmisiunas »

mkr-hn wrote: post #156
Ensorceled wrote: post #18

I left dropbox when they changed the full page upsell to "dropbox business" so that I couldn't easily figure out how to skip it and get on with my work. I had a paid pro account at the time. I actually had a conversation with a product manager; I checked the yes you can contact me when I cancelled my account. They simply refused to admit that an upsell was a advertisement and that disrupting my workflow on my paid, p…

I stopped using Dropbox when they stopped allowing bulk note exports in Paper. Paper is so good , but it's ruined by their moat-building. They seem to be headed down a path of increasingly dark patterns.

I immediately download all my Paper notes. On the upside, the bulk downloading option is still available:

Dropbox Paper > Your Icon > Download docs you created.

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#247

Post by dylan604 »

princetman wrote: post #220
js2 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every single video app I have on my AppleTV: Netflix, Amazon, Criterion, even Apple’s own TV app, shrinks whatever you are watching down to a thumbnail just before the movie or show ends. I fucking hate it. Yes, I’m one of those weirdos who sits through to the end when the copyright rolls past and gets pissed off when the lights come on at a theater during the credits. It is incredibly disrespectful to the film. This…

I get the sentiment for live performance, but in your own home, I can not relate to this. Vast majority of people in credits are doing a job and getting paid for it, just like any other profession or trade. We don't pay "respect" to delivery drivers, or to designers and engineers who brings us our gadgets and services in same way. Why should I spend my time and attention on credit rolls? It's not like anyone noticing…

You don't tip? Tips are showing your respect for deliveries. Also, most gadgets I've seen have a screen that can be viewed with credits in them, as well as most software. Video games have credits too. Books have credits too, right there on the cover and is probably what grabs your attention more than the title.

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#248

Post by baggachipz »

Remember when this(1) was Dropbox? Remember how beloved it was because it did a thing and did it well, without complicating things or being actively user-hostile? Well, of course it's been fully MBA'd at this point, a true shame.

(1) https://i.ibb.co/w6zcwYW/Screen-Shot-2021-01-15-at-10-49-22-...

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#249

Post by snicksnak »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #137
KingOfCoders wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with the ads for Amazon videos on Amazon Prime. They are ads and I don't want ads. But they don't see it that way (don't get me started on the forced watching of texts on Blue Rays).

You also can't change the UI language with Prime Video. I'm an American in Germany, no option to use English.

On top of that, Prime makes it particularly hard for you to use english. No option to make english the default language for playback. If you switch to english for an episode, the next one starts in german again....

On my samsung TV you can't even change the language from within the menu while watching, you have to close playback, go to playback settings of the movie, change the language, go back to the movie's main menu and then start the movie again.

Re: Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Google login

#250

Post by ryandrake »

grishka wrote: post #43

I really wish mobile OSes would allow you to grant apps permissions but serve fake data, (that's important!) without giving the app the ability to tell the difference. Just so it appears to the app that you've given the permission, when you in fact have not. This would solve this entire class of problems and then some. So, for example: - App "has" access to contacts, but the system returns that you have none. - App "…

Apple solved this pretty well I thought. The developer guidelines say that you cannot require a permission as a condition of using an app. If the user says no, you must gracefully degrade. You can’t exit(0) or put up an undismissable screen until you get the permission. Apps that violate this are supposed to get kicked out of the store.
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