apps that want the moon on a stick

[SarahBell]

Was looking at instagram and to install it on my mobile I have to allow it access to almost everything - including the ability to send texts.. What?

(I know I'm rather late to the instagram party and it probably means they'd go into a terminal decline if I started using it)

[Frank Hovis]

I've just shorted Instagram shares.

[assetrichcashpoor]

I do appreciate the mid-late 90s Lee and Herring reference. When I use that occasionally the kids at work don't have a clue what I'm talking about.

[The Masked Tulip]

These frecking apps seem to constantly want to update. They ask for more and more permissions. Lots of them want to basically access your contacts.

[spyguy]

Yeah, nothigns free these day - aprt from BSD +Linux.

Im still waiting for an open source phone befreo I move beyond my dumb phone.

Like, tulip, the constant updating fcks me off.

[The Spaniard]

Being unaccustomed to drinking sherry during the hours of daylight, I misread apps as apes in the title and thought of Moonwatcher from Kubrick's 2001.

 

[Ash4781]

I think Facebook are changing so that you will need to install messenger to view messages from mobile. Install asks to view all mobile contacts which it then communicates back to Facebook.

[Sledgehead]

The real problem with these privacy wrecking apps is that we are well old.

[spunko2010]

The problem is that there aren't enough probe to choose from if you're a developer. 

[Ill_handle_it]

Updated an app the other day and it kept locking chrome and suggesting another app to fix it. I wasn't initially aware that it was the app (a torch stock app I believe). Ran malware bytes and confirmed that the app was indeed a pup. The secondary app that I was prompted to install would have opened pretty much everything, I'm led to believe via a Google Search. 

Games such as Angry Birds are now unplayable imo. I recall playing AB for hours the first time round without being constantly timed out. I accept that the app is free and Devs need to make dollar. However, they've gone too far for me. 

[Pooch]

Apps were a novelty to me when I first got a smartphone, but are now something I don't bother with. I do wonder why so many websites want you to use their app, presumably because they can get more control over the user than via a webpage? Or to access your other phone data! A web browser is all i need, so get fed up with having to close website banners encouraging me to install their app instead.

Goodness knows what Google does with all my data, but other app developers could be anybody!

[200p]

I am surprised HPC hasn't invested in a app!

[DTMark]

Unless it is obvious as to why an app wants information (for example a weather app might need to know your location) then I answer "no" to all the questions.

If the app then doesn't work I uninstall it.

[happy_renting]

I bought a nifty boroscope (endoscope) attachment for inspecting inaccessible bits of my engine bay (NOT up my bottom).

Can't use it - I refuse to let it's App know my location or contacts, FFS.

I may get a second, old, Android device sometime just to use some of these Apps anonymously

And I don't want it uploading shots of inside my bottom. I never said that.

[Ill_handle_it]

Indeed. PB and such like provide old versions of apps that are either fully activated or stock without restrictions added to later builds. I wouldn't trust them on day to day phone tho.

[mjhodgson]

A few years ago I caught the Facebook app trying to steal my contact info on my phone.

I have a rooted android phone and used to run a permsissions firewall (I'm not paranoid honest!). Where when an app asked for a permsission, such as acess to contacts, GPS etc a box would pop up telling me and allow me to block it. I installed the facebook app, during the install it asked "Do you want facebook to upload your contacts" or something. I said no. It then tried to access my contacts constantly whilst the app was on my phone. I removed it pretty quick and won't allow it on any phone I have.

[davidg]

I have an app on Google play which needs contact access simply so you can select those contacts to send messages to. Nothing nefarious, the app does nothing else with the contacts, but of course it could. It largely seems to be the big players that are up to no good, not the backroom developers.

[DTMark]

I had to install Instagram for a project I'm doing.

I ditched my iPhone as it was too buggy, and got a Windows phone.

Now, to the iPhone's credit, it would have popped up a dialog box asking "Do you want to allow Instagram to access...?" and I'd have said "No".

The Windows Phone just allows it.

I check the Privacy settings after installation and for all I know, it could have grabbed a complete copy of all my contacts before I disabled its access.

With the Windows Phone you can disable access to Contacts on a global level. However SMS messaging won't work then as even that doesn't have access to them. So you leave it to "On" and then get a menu of apps to select which one(s) can have access.

However Instagram helped itself to access to various things on installation and even though I have now turned off its access, I'm left wondering what information it grabbed.

This is all going to end really badly with these apps.

[200p]

uh huh.

One day the app will reveal to all your friends which websites you have been to, how many times, and how often! Unwillingly or via hacking!

Naked Morris Dancers Hub.

Uh huh....

[newbonic]

On 12/24/2016 at 7:16 PM, 200p said:

I am surprised HPC hasn't invested in a app!

I do use the Tapatalk app to look at several fora without having to go via a browser. HPC doesn't seem to be on it though.

I deliberately didn't buy another Google Nexus/Pixel phone this time around, specifically because of the way they're welded to everything Google, which is now spyware as much as Facebook is. I had an HTC phone that it was impossible to uninstall FB from once - not bought one of those since either (I loath FB). Motorola seem to be the most vanilla Android phones at the moment.