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Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

forum.swype.com

11–20 of 168 posts

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A software bug is not on the same level as being violently sexually assaulted. You are part of a much larger problem.

Software bug? Do you really believe that this is software bug? It logs location many thousands of times every day and nobody noticed that?

Who says it logs them? And, someone did notice it.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A software bug is not on the same level as being violently sexually assaulted. You are part of a much larger problem.

Software bug? Do you really believe that this is software bug? It logs location many thousands of times every day and nobody noticed that?

@gliptic if the request is made to the server, it's logged. If the request is made over an open channel, it can be viewed by some other third party. And it was a customer that noticed that bug, not the developer.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never attribute to malice what could also be attributed to incompetence. All we know is that it makes the location requests, it could just as well be attributed to sloppy programming.

Dunno. How can you inadvertently request location info when you're implementing a keyboard for Android?

Read the thread and specifically the answer from one administrator of the board.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never attribute to malice what could also be attributed to incompetence. All we know is that it makes the location requests, it could just as well be attributed to sloppy programming.

Dunno. How can you inadvertently request location info when you're implementing a keyboard for Android?

We check for last known location in order to provide regional dialects via Living Language.

I'm not saying it's legit or required, but that's their explanation from the link there.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never attribute to malice what could also be attributed to incompetence. All we know is that it makes the location requests, it could just as well be attributed to sloppy programming.

Dunno. How can you inadvertently request location info when you're implementing a keyboard for Android?

I think that the 'sloppy programming' comment was directed at the volume of requests. Maybe a poorly chosen location poll or polling interval. Whether or not a keyboard should be polling your location at all is another question.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#17
The official response is that location data is used for "regional dialects"... makes sense, but is IP geolocation not close enough? The screenshot there doesn't make it clear but is this coarse or fine location data? My keyboard, no matter how smart, shouldn't need to know where exactly it is on Earth to within a few meters. Within a state or town, fair enough.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#18
post #7

Every time I see something like this come up, it really makes me wonder how many other apps out there are doing the same thing and getting away with it. Unless you root your phone and use something like the mentioned android firewall, or go whole-hog and install Cyanogenmod, what chance do you have to guard against this? I assume ios users are likely in the same boat, but with even less chance of recourse.

The crazy thing about all these rooting methods is that the code is seldom open and in either case they always distribute binaries anyways. Rooting your phone is no guarantee of anything.

Edit: think about how this would play out if you were to go on an Apple or Ubuntu forum and someone said "here, run this executable on your laptop to get extra functionality from it. I cannot give you the source because it's secret. But trust me, my name is FunkBlade3000 and I have over 2,500 karma on this forum, so you know you can trust me." Even our grandparents now know not to do this, yet I see IT professionals happily rooting their phones this way.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#19

Does this mean we can't even trust the input options on a phone now? After blocking this, does it also mean I'm now going to have to change every password I've ever typed on my device? FFS.

In fact, when activating a different input method on Android 2.3, there is a warning specific in that direction, that it does read everything you type, and therefore should only be changed if you trust the other keyboard. It is a valid warning.

In fact, I don't think that we should trust our phones at all, not specifically but only including the input method.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#20
Just about everything I install on my phone is suspect these days with respect to privacy and permissions. Why does BBC weather need to write to my USB storage for example and why do I have to let it?

The Nokia C2 I have floating around is starting to look interesting again. It has no idea where it is.

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