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

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

#1
https://postimg.cc/6y3Z9yjY

They had implemented that already a while ago, then reverted the behaviour, and now implemented it once again.

It seems as if it was not "enabled" for everyone yet, however.

They hid the permissions with each version better and better and apparently decided now, users don't need them at all.

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

#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 specific permissions (camera), forever.

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

#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 fundamental as opening the app store. You'll seemingly have some kind of server-side flag activated one day that gives you a totally new UI in an app you use every day, hiding things or removing features you rely on. Then maybe in another few days it'll be back to how it was.

Not only do they not seem to value their users, they actively punish you for being one of their users, jostling you around between new UIs or even entire services that are always worse than the last.

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

#6

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…

What about standard permissions? The user is never prompted for them.

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

#7
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…

[deleted]

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

#9
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…

Just don't use proprietary applications (or don't expect them to serve you).

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

#10

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…

You are right, but that doesn't seem like a good excuse to remove that information from the Play Store completely. It would be trivial for the Android APIs to require that all permissions requested programmatically are also present in the manifest. This would continue to give user's a picture of what the app could/would request.

They could just change their play store listing from "Required permissions" to "Permissions this app can request". This is similar to the "nutrition label" approach that the Apple App Store has.

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