Facebook can now read your texts • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#201

Post by DonGateley » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 8:34 PM UTC

Nicholas_C wrote: post #179

DonGateley wrote: post #82

SMS is nothing. There are now many Android apps that demand the right to turn on your microphone any time they want to without notifying you. If you carry an Android phone and are not really careful about permissions you are carrying a wire.

Which apps would those be?

I do not remember which apps specifically stated "without notifying the user", however it was worded and I can't find any permission that specifically states that now but I am pretty sure that with MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS permission it can be done by an app using the AudioRecord object:

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/AudioRe...

To my chagrin I find 31 apps on my phone now that have that permission.

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#202

Post by theandrewbailey » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 9:23 PM UTC

therealpatriot wrote: post #5

I'm a god fearing american citizen with nothing to hide

Let's test that. What's your Social Security Number?

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#203

Post by BlackDeath3 » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 9:27 PM UTC

DominikR wrote: post #191

simonsarris wrote: post #3

Is there any recourse short of "don't use the app" that regular users have against this sort of thing? Is there no meaningful way to push back against Facebook for demanding this permission?

You can use my Facebook client, which definitely doesn't read your text messages, emails and calendar. Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flipster&h...

>which definitely doesn't read your text messages, emails and calendar

Does this constitute a privacy policy?

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#204

Post by SwellJoe » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 9:32 PM UTC

npizzolato wrote: post #190

SwellJoe wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Useful" for what purpose?

It makes it easier for me to carry on conversations while also doing other things on my phone. If I'm reading something, and someone responds to a message, I can quickly pop open the chat window and respond, then close it and go back to what I was doing. I find that more convenient than going back to the home screen and launching an app from there or the (rather slow) app switching process. Yes, sometimes it does get…

Notifications in the top bar achieve that purpose for me, without disrupting what I'm currently doing.

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#205

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 9:37 PM UTC

simonsarris wrote: post #3

Is there any recourse short of "don't use the app" that regular users have against this sort of thing? Is there no meaningful way to push back against Facebook for demanding this permission?

[deleted]

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#206

Post by alistairjcbrown » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 9:39 PM UTC

exodust wrote: post #120

muppetman wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a Samsung Android phone, there's a Permissions Manager that allows you to firewall what apps can and can't do. Same as Cyanogenmod without having to root your phone.

No there isn't.

Yes there is. It's called "Permissions Manager" and is available through the Samsung app store.

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#207

Post by emehrkay » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:21 PM UTC

Thank God that I cannot uninstall the FaceBook app from my HTC One.

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#208

Post by qwerty_asdf » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:30 PM UTC

theandrewbailey wrote: post #202

therealpatriot wrote: post #5

I'm a god fearing american citizen with nothing to hide

Let's test that. What's your Social Security Number?

I just sent it to you in a text message. Didn't you get it?

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#209

Post by alanh » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:32 PM UTC

wavesounds wrote: post #186

blueskin_ wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be, called App Ops. It was in for (one?) point release before google promptly withdrew it again after realising that giving people tools to protect their privacy goes against their mission.

If that we're true why don't they remove the AdBlock extension from he Chrome store? What good are targeted Ads if those Ads are blocked anyway?

This one is pretty simple, actually. They do obscure AdBlock from the store — if listed in order of popularity instead of being somewhat curated, it’d be at the top of the page. But to your point, imagine they did remove AdBlock from the store. Nerds would stop using Chrome. (Assuming it was not fairly straightforward to install from another source, as is increasingly true.) And we nerds tell our friends and family what browser they should be using. It’d hurt the overall popularity of the browser.

Also, it’s better for Chrome’s security reputation to allow AdBlock from within their store than to allow it from a third-party site. You don’t want to train users that it’s OK to install extensions with broad permissions from anywhere but the Chrome store!

It may become the case in the future that they re-evaluate these priorities, of course.

Re: Facebook can now read your texts

#210

Post by DominikR » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:38 PM UTC

BlackDeath3 wrote: post #203

DominikR wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can use my Facebook client, which definitely doesn't read your text messages, emails and calendar. Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flipster&h...

>which definitely doesn't read your text messages, emails and calendar Does this constitute a privacy policy?

Well, you don't have to trust me or some privacy policy.

On Android you can see for yourself whether an app tries to access data such as text messages, emails or calendar.

My app doesn't ask for those permissions, therefore it can't access that data.