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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

#61

Post by hbn »

ajross wrote: post #43
hbn wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to an iPhone and I'm using proprietary applications, but ones that don't randomly change their UI on a regular basis whenever some nameless product manager decides they want to use me to gather some new engagement metrics by rearranging UIs on my phone

> ones that don't randomly change their UI on a regular basis I'm genuinely curious what apps you're talking about here. Everyone does this nonsense. Everything changes all the time. Everything. I don't like it either, but to state that it somehow doesn't happen in the Apple ecosystem seems like a pretty big whopper.

Here's a random example: I think it was like 2017, 2018 when Google launched messages for web. For starters, when it launched, it was located at messages.android.com

I don't think it was much time later before they moved it to messages.google.com, which i think was in line with their SMS's apps like 5th rebranding, this time from Android Messages to Google Messages.

Originally the app had an overall blue theme, and for individual contacts you could change the color of your conversation with them so each chat thread was themed. This even had the neat effect that it would sync with the web version. However, it only lasted like a week maybe before Google completely redesigned Messages to be all white themed, and killed the chat themes entirely so all message threads were now blue and white to look like the iPhone messages app.

That wasn't a rare experience, and I haven't encountered anything like it since switching to an iPhone.

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

#62

Post by roughly »

mdp2021 wrote: post #47
roughly wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard a phrase a while back: “the subtle gaslighting of A/B testing” - that feeling that you’re pretty sure that button used to be over there, or the app used to have that function, but not entirely sure, because one day it’s just Different, no release or upgrade or reinstall, just - it’s not the same anymore - or, is it?

> the subtle gaslighting of A/B testing It surely would be so... What could trigger that in an application? Some of us have never seen any such behaviour (fortunately for anybody responsible and huntable). Maybe said applications are web-based, mostly front-end?

Ain’t just web. Plenty of well-defined feature flag frameworks for mobile, too.

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

#63

Post by WorldMaker »

bjelkeman-again wrote: post #45
hbn wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've definitely changed the overall look, but a good amount of their apps are pretty much identical in how you use them from the original iPhone in 2007. Notes, Messages, Contacts, etc are all relatively unchanged, except for additional features. The biggest overhaul was probably the recent change to Safari where they brought the address bar to the bottom, which was a consideration based on how big phones have got…

At least with Safari address bar, I found a setting to move it back to the top.

I appreciated when iOS Firefox added a setting to move it down to the bottom. As an old WinPhone user, I missed having that key navigation tool at the bottom. It really does make one-handed phone usage easier.

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

#64

Post by hbn »

cmroanirgo wrote: post #53
hbn wrote: post #4

> They had implemented that already a while ago, then reverted the behaviour, and now implemented it once again. This is, among many other reasons, why I finally dropped Android after the better part of a decade. The constant A/B/C/D/E testing makes every single thing they put out feel like it's a constant state of beta testing. It's to the point where you don't even know what to expect when you do something as funda…

The alternative is iOS, a more consistent UI/UX, but you lose out on projects like F-Droid, where you can bypass Google HQ nonsense.

If you're running Google Play Services, you're not really bypassing Google HQ nonsense.

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

#65

Post by derevaunseraun »

I see people in the comments trying to justify this change because the apps need to request for permissions, but WHY exactly would google want to get rid of this info? What benefit does it bring to the user, if any?

If anything, it harms the user by preventing them from seeing what permissions apps will access in an easy to read format.

Why did google even decide to do this in the first place? My best guess is it makes users more likely to let an application access permissions after they've gone ahead and installed it, generating more ad $$$ in the process. But is there any other reason?

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

#66

Post by joecool1029 »

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…

There's a whole GCam (Google Camera) modding community that manages to get image quality that's often better than what non-pixel OEM vendors offer. These ports usually work on LineageOS (and other ROMs) This site has a large collection of models and the config files generated for each device: https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/ I think they link to some Telegram channels too where people share the kinds of photography they get with the modifications.

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

#67

Post by shadowgovt »

serf wrote: post #51
shadowgovt wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it's pretty great. Best walled garden on the market by a country mile.

> Yeah, it's pretty great. Best walled garden on the market by a country mile. a lot of us avoid supporting such behavior from corporations because we view it as unethical or immoral and damaging to the sector in general -- regardless of how good the ux/ui may be.

The nice thing about living in a world of free people is that is a choice a person can make.

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

#69

Post by [deleted] »

derevaunseraun wrote: post #65

I see people in the comments trying to justify this change because the apps need to request for permissions, but WHY exactly would google want to get rid of this info? What benefit does it bring to the user, if any? If anything, it harms the user by preventing them from seeing what permissions apps will access in an easy to read format. Why did google even decide to do this in the first place? My best guess is it mak…

[deleted]

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

#70

Post by sicp-enjoyer »

givemeethekeys wrote: post #21

I hope Tim Cook succeeds in convincing our government that privacy is important.

Privacy is marketing strategy they chose to differentiate themselves from their competitors who have business models that heavily rely on advertising and surveillance. It's a good thing for consumers that they are interested in it, but cynically, I don't think that interest is because they think its "important" on an ethical level.
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