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Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

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Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#151

Post by mdp2021 »

uranium wrote: post #127
kikokikokiko wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why having a firewall installed is essential in every android phone. Afwall+ does the job. My phones are all rooted but if I'm not mistaken it works on non rooted phones as well.

Nope, it requires root, as it should, really. Anything that can mess with networking at a low level needs root; there's no Android permission that I know of that lets you get down to iptables level.

There do exist "noroot" Android firewalls; I am not sure how they work (I think by somehow becoming interfaces - like "noroot" packet sniffers), but very probably not through `iptables`.

There are products on GitHub; I am looking at NetGuard (from, I think, Marcel Bokhorst aka M66B - the project has many forks). The .md says, «The only way to build a no-root firewall on Android is to use the Android VPN service».

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#152

Post by qwery »

RootKitBeerCat wrote: post #131

It’s like installing an app on your computer; your giving the app permissions to your computer… there’s so much Google can’t control that it’s dumb to blame them here… I’m not saying “every end user should be wary of their apps and test them all”, but basically… what’s the alternative? Build your own mobile os, and then side load and very every apk?!

> there’s so much Google can’t control that it’s dumb to blame them here

I think it's pretty clear that the Google Play Store is something that only Google can control.

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#153

Post by hackernewds »

bornfreddy wrote: post #17

LineageOS. Or Murena, if you can't be bothered to install it yourself. And then use f-droid, or if it's not available there, Aurora store. As seen on computers, OS is too important to be left to companies - if you value your freedom of choice and privacy, that is.

Enough people need to adopt them, for it to truly be effective. At which point they just become the new Google.

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#154

Post by xyzzy123 »

unglaublich wrote: post #144
epukaza wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The app needs the geolocation permission to access the bluetooth radio and scan for devices. Any company can can technically do geolocation using nothing but nearby bluetooth MAC addresses if they have location information for any other phone/device in bluetooth range.

With the proper permission set (neverForLocation), the OS shouldn't ask for geo-location permission. So the app seems malconfigured, or it's actually doing something with the Bluetooth beacons that it can't do otherwise. https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/blue...

That permission is pretty new, so the app might not have been updated for it.

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#155

Post by kayxspre »

no-reply wrote: post #121

Honest question, how many of us read permissions after scrolling through the description and then download ? It might make sense if you have metered bandwidth, not otherwise. I first try to find an ad-free app, install it and then see if it asks unnecessary permissions and go from there.

I recall in several write-up about potentially harmful apps that, apart from the review, another helpful method is to check the permission and see if it's necessary for the main function of the app. Having the list of permissions before installing is helpful in determining whether it requires more permission than necessary to function.

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#156

Post by Sakos »

gene91 wrote: post #134
epukaza wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The app needs the geolocation permission to access the bluetooth radio and scan for devices. Any company can can technically do geolocation using nothing but nearby bluetooth MAC addresses if they have location information for any other phone/device in bluetooth range.

What you said sounds plausible and I believe it. Assuming you’re right, it’s really sad that multiple sibling posts assume that the app was doing something shady and selling the user’s data. It shows, in general, how little trust people have in apps on their own phones.

It's sad that so many apps can't be trusted, leading to a lack of trust in apps in general. But that's not our problem.

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#157

Post by simpss »

Groxx wrote: post #85
dblohm7 wrote: post #38

I still miss the good old days of Android when apps didn't automatically receive the internet permission. Now get off my lawn.

I've been running netguard for this reason, yeah. Many have no need for internet access. As a bonus, the DNS-based adblocking works extremely well. Not perfect, but dramatically better than nothing at all.

firefox supports ublock origin on android :)

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#158

Post by ajvs »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #56
bornfreddy wrote: post #17

LineageOS. Or Murena, if you can't be bothered to install it yourself. And then use f-droid, or if it's not available there, Aurora store. As seen on computers, OS is too important to be left to companies - if you value your freedom of choice and privacy, that is.

I am very much fed up and ready to get on board with you but one thing that holds me back is photo quality. Nowadays camera sensors are only half the story and most of the iphone-like photo quality is achieved in software. Have we reached a point where non-OEM apps can deliver something comparable to the market expectations from big manufacturers? I am ok with narrow combinations e.g. if you use app X on Hardware Y y…

Secure Camera by GrapheneOS[1] is what you're looking for. It's built on the latest CameraX API, which means it supports all the modern sensors.

[1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.grapheneos...

Re: Tell HN: Google does not list application permissions in the Play Store any more

#160

Post by bagacrap »

is_true wrote: post #15
simonsarris wrote: post #2

That seems OK since it still asks you as it needs them when running an app, and "prunes" permissions away from apps that you do not use often. Lots of apps only need specific permissions if you use specific parts of the app. And apps are much larger (one app does more things) than they were 5-10 years ago. Eg you can use some apps as a camera, but never as a photo editor, and get use out of it by only giving some spe…

This clearly isn't OK. I want to choose between an app that asks for what it needs to work and an app that ask everything it can, before installing it. It's a dark pattern.

Don't you have more context to understand and grant the permission request at runtime? For example a banking app might want access to the camera for depositing checks, but until I'm actually depositing a check it might not be clear why it would want to use the camera.
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