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Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

forum.swype.com

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Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Android has a way of faking location data, I don't see why a contact list would be any different: https://developer.android.com/training/location/location-tes...

Considerably different. Mock location data simply provides the location you want over ADB. It is a supplied value.

It doesn't need ADB. There's an app for that: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakeg...

So it is similar in that you could conceivably have an app that manages fake contact lists' data.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#162

I have a Droid Moto X. Swype was pre-installed, so I can't even uninstall it without rooting my phone. I got an Android phone b/c I didn't want to be one of Steve's sheep, but given some of the comments here it's probably safer to be in his flock than not.

Perhaps you are thinking of Swiftkey. Swype is definitely not preinstalled on Moto X phones.

Maybe I misspoke, but are the Motorola Droid X and Moto X the same phone? If they are you may be mistaken per my experience (I cannot uninstall Swype, so I assume it was pre-installed) and per the wiki

On June 16, 2010, Swype opened a public beta for the Android operating system.[20] The Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy Note, Motorola Droid X, Motorola i1, and Motorola Droid 2 Android-based smartphones come with Swype pre-installed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swype

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#163
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no need to change APIs, just let AppOps insert shim between apps and API calls and return empty datasets instead of null/failing whole calls. Let that app ask for my location, but let me define location it returns when I refuse real location. Same for contacts/messages.

...let me define location it returns when I refuse real location. This would destroy some apps, e.g. Ingress.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakeg...

I just wish there was a central place that would let me do this per ap for all permisions.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#164
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not constraining the behavior of the user's device, it's constraining the functionality of the app. If an app needs certain permissions to function, and the user denies those permissions, why should the app be forced to run with falsified data? Imagine that the use case is not ad targeting, but rather emergency weather broadcasts based on your location. Do we still want the app to receive randomized data?

If the user configures the emergency weather broadcast app to receive randomized data, yes obviously. The app should be "forced" to run with modified data, because that is what the user explicitly chose . The whole point of an app is that it runs on the user's device, meaning it should be ultimately acting in the user's best interest, despite any post-facto desires of the developer. That is the whole idea of ownershi…

What would happen when the aforementioned emergency weather broadcast app fails to notify users of a tornado coming their way, because it was given the wrong locations? What would that do to the app's reputation? How many people would believe it's user's fault as oppose to blaming the shitty app?

By your logic, a laptop with li-ion battery can be "forced" to keep running in an 140F degree environment, because that's what user "explicitly chose". When it explodes, who's getting the blame?

There's something call operational envelope, which applies to software too. And believe it or not, that is for user's "best interest".

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you are thinking of Swiftkey. Swype is definitely not preinstalled on Moto X phones.

Maybe I misspoke, but are the Motorola Droid X and Moto X the same phone? If they are you may be mistaken per my experience (I cannot uninstall Swype, so I assume it was pre-installed) and per the wiki On June 16, 2010, Swype opened a public beta for the Android operating system.[20] The Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy Note, Motorola Droid X , Motorola i1, and Motorola Droid 2 Android-based smar…

I think you did misspeak. The Motorola Droid X is a phone that came out in 2010. The Motorola Moto X is a phone that came out in 2013. There is no such phone as the "Droid Moto X."

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the user configures the emergency weather broadcast app to receive randomized data, yes obviously. The app should be "forced" to run with modified data, because that is what the user explicitly chose . The whole point of an app is that it runs on the user's device, meaning it should be ultimately acting in the user's best interest, despite any post-facto desires of the developer. That is the whole idea of ownershi…

What would happen when the aforementioned emergency weather broadcast app fails to notify users of a tornado coming their way, because it was given the wrong locations? What would that do to the app's reputation? How many people would believe it's user's fault as oppose to blaming the shitty app? By your logic, a laptop with li-ion battery can be "forced" to keep running in an 140F degree environment, because that's…

Or when the user's location reporting is off, or their network has been firewalled, or they're 60 miles away at work but really would have liked to know that a storm was coming for their house?

I mean sure, you may face some public outrage. On the other hand, you may have to deal with a twitstorm for any number of other ridiculous reasons. Should the ideal really be to give everyone safety scissors because you're worried about the rare dolt that doesn't know which end to hold? That's the kind of attitude that dumbs the whole of society down and fuels the entitled mob who blames everyone else for their own mistakes.

What you called the user's "best interest" is based on know-it-all paternalism. For 90% of things it will agree, but don't mistake your model user's utility function for actual individuals'.

(And for your li-ion example, there's a reason that's done with a thermal fuse instead of software, which means that the design is fixed. But to the extent that it is done in software instead, then yes it should be end-user adjustable, even if it seems like a really bad idea for them to do so)

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As soon as it is on your device, it is no longer the developer's program, but your copy. Ownership (as opposed to renting) enables distributed rights instead of centrally-granted privileges. Hoping that competition between centralized privilege-granters will compensate for a lack of true rights is an error based in the fallacy of efficient markets. In reality, competition/enforcement is not perfect and defaults matte…

Which is fine and dandy, just don't expect Google's or the developer's help to do so. I'll say it again - if one of the terms I license (sell a license) my app under is that it must have location data, you are entitled to either provide that data or not use the app.

Yes sure, but you're just referencing the knows-best authoritarian thought that has gotten us into this mess in the first place. The current state of the "art" doesn't change what is right, so you're merely pointing out that Google's developers are not working to preserve users' freedom.

I'll say it to be clear - regardless of what you think your "terms" are, they're irrelevant to the functioning of my computational devices.

Re: Swype makes almost 4000 location requests every day

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considerably different. Mock location data simply provides the location you want over ADB. It is a supplied value.

It doesn't need ADB. There's an app for that: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakeg... So it is similar in that you could conceivably have an app that manages fake contact lists' data.

True, but that is just performing the same data mocking that the ADB method uses. It really doesn't change my statement.
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