App Permissions - Need a little help - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

I'm still newer to Android and today realized the permissions that apps request. Before I was quick to just accept & go. I was about to install an app that is requesting a LOT of permissions. Phone calls, hardware controls (pics/vids at any time), and network communication (SMS I believe). My questions are simple.
1. Do some mods already implement certain things into itself to disable some of these features? I understand this is a mod-by-mod basis if so. Does Synergy do anything to disable this crap, anybody know?
2. How worried do I have to be about this? Will the app literally take pics and send them out without my knowledge? Or is it only the pics I take it can send out? How does this work?
3. Which of the permissions that apps request do I really need to keep an eye on and watch out for? AKA, what could take info/pics that I dont want it to?
4. Is Anti-Virus software REALLY necessary since I'm all rooted and such? I read articles saying it's useful and others saying it doesn't even provide much protection, and the chance to get something is quite rare if you only use google play/android market?
Thanks in advance for any and all help. I ditched Apple and AT&T for this thing, and with it being rooted, I am unbelievably happy I made the switch to both VZW and the S3! AWESOME phone, screen size, and customization!

Bump...

Ok, so maybe this is getting ignored because it's too much of a noob question, or self explanatory? Not sure, but I want to know how far this crap goes...To my worst fears, like hardware control can take pics any time they want and I never know about it, or is it not that bad?
Thanks in advance for any help!

It is somewhat self explanatory... just use common sense when downloading an app... If you don't think it really needs the permission that it's asking for then don't download it. For example, there's no reason a music app that plays your sdcard contents needs your GPS location, etc... Look at the reviews of apps in question also... that's your best indicator right there if the app is trustworthy or not... If it's a bad app then its going to have bad reviews.

See your other thread on this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1860600
I tried to explain as best I can
--Sent from GlaDos baked potato

Related

How difficult would it be to mod the CarCradle app? Specifically for froyo.

So, I decided that the $5 for the car cradle from verizon was too tempting. I've recieved it and have been using it for a day or so and it serves it's purpose. A good charging station that keeps it from sliding around my center console. I'd like to utilize the CarCradle app, but with the removal of bing (I'm not disappointed by this) the app dead-ends when selecting Maps, Voice Search & Navigator. Would it be possible to re-establish links to Google Maps, Goodle Voice Search & Google Navigator instead? I know that there are many other car apps on the market but this one isn't terrible, providing that the links work.
I've unpacked the .apk file but it's like trying to read Swahili. I wouldn't know the first place to begin. I'd like to eventually try my hand at app building but I'm a long way off.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Peace,
Ray
sure, wouldn't be hard at all actually! I'll work on this sometime this week/weekend
wouldnt this be considered as warez if it was modded for foryo.
Thanks Trailblazer, I look forward to seeing your result. The desk cradle app is suffering from the same de-binged issue if you're interested. I still don't understand why Samsung didn't allow for any customization with these two apps. Oh well, it is what it is.
Bierce22, I don't know. If that were the case you could say the same about 75% of the apps that make their way out to the public. Transparent widgets and apps and such would be similar, I would think. For that matter the froyo rom we now have could be considered the same. But I don't know the ins and outs of all this stuff. I'm just a simple end user looking the get the most out of a pretty good phone with lots of potential.
this is just my opinion i dont wont to start a big debate or flaming contest but i remember when theimpailer got in trouble for modding andgry birds to get it to run on lower devices he took out the adds in order to make it work. i just dont want to see someone get into trouble. if u fix it then keep it to yourself and problem soloved lol.
It's all good, I didn't see it as the beginning of a flame anything. The way I see that situation, and I only know what you have posted here, is that Angry Birds is a paid app in the market. Modding that and reposting could be considered copyright infringement, much like reposting an mp3 of a song on the old Napster. These Apps are included as part of the Samsung android os. I guess to eliminate the possibility of being infringement the "proper" thing to do would be to mod the app and only include it in an updated ROM. That way only current Continuum owners could aquire the Apps. But the nature of the open source OS is the ability to freely share modification and development. At least that's the way I see it, for whatever that's worth. Thanks for keeping us honest though. Simply because you can doesn't always mean that you ought. I don't see any issue with this situation... Then again, I'm a little biased as I'm the one interested in the mod. ;-)
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App
Cradle Apps
Hi All,
I started the same musings on the accessory thread, then I started downloading alternatives. I haven't tried any of them because my car cradle was working with Google Maps and Search. I wonder if the de-Bing rom works the same way. I haven't tried that either. I get the same errors you speak of with the original 2.2 rom. I think to use these alternatives you just need to use something like Root Explorer to rename the stock app and name the new one the original stock app name. Search and you shall see the results of the different apps. I can post what I found if needed.

App Permissions - Little Help Please

I'm still newer to Android and today realized the permissions that apps request. Before I was quick to just accept & go. I was about to install an app that is requesting a LOT of permissions. Phone calls, hardware controls (pics/vids at any time), and network communication (SMS I believe). My questions are simple.
1. Do certain custom mods, like Synergy? Do some mods already implement certain things into itself to disable some of these features? I understand this is a mod-by-mod basis if so. Does Synergy do anything to disable this crap, anybody know?
2. How worried do I have to be about this? Will the app literally take pics and send them out without my knowledge? Or is it only the pics I take it can send out? How does this work?
3. Which of the permissions that apps request do I really need to keep an eye on and watch out for? AKA, what could take info/pics that I dont want it to?
4. Is Anti-Virus software REALLY necessary since I'm all rooted and such? I read articles saying it's useful and others saying it doesn't even provide much protection, and the chance to get something is quite rare if you only use google play/android market?
Thanks in advance for any and all help. I ditched Apple and AT&T for this thing, and with it being rooted, I am unbelievably happy I made the switch to both VZW and the S3! AWESOME phone, screen size, and customization!
Edit: Posted wrong forum....Shoulda been Q&A forum. Devs plz move.
1. Not sure. I haven't played with synergy.
2. What kind of app is it? This is huge into what kkind of permissions it needs. If its a live wallpaper app it shouldn't be asking to be able to read your contacts or send SMS. You just gotta think what does this app do and why does it need this permission. A launcher app like Apex or Nova needs A LOT of permissions. To be able to make calls and send SMS and work the camera as a launcher can do all of those. Does a game need the ability to do that though? No. It may ask to read your contacts so it can share crap with your friends though. It can be hard when you look at permission apps ask for to decide it its legit or not. If you can't decide just don't download.
I try to only download hugely popular apps that I know aren't malware. If its got over 100k downloads chances are it is a safe app.
Permissions are tricky and until you realize all an app can do you wont understand why it wants to do some things. It took me a good year of downloading apps and reading about things toto get a great grip on permissions.
The biggest thing is common sense. What does the app do and why should it need this permission. An SMS app needs permission to the camera and to send SMS that cost money and read your phone book and such. But if I download a live wallpaper or a weather widget...why would they need such abilities. That should raise a HUGE red flag. Anytime you see "can send SMS that may cost you money" in permissions try to figure out why it needs that. Cause the last thing you want is to DL it and tomorrow have $600 in txt fees.
I don't believe in anti virus on my phone. Yeah you can get em and some love em. But really. If you just use common sense and don't download suspicious things you shouldn't need one. I refer back to only download trusted apps. If it has less the 1k downloads. Be wary. It may be a new app that a dev just launched. Or it could be a reason for the lack of downloads. Look at reviews ALWAYS. Yes many are from morons. But some are helpful. Also if you want a popular game go straight to the devs for it in the market. Many times bogus apps are posted that spoof popular apps like angry birds. Download the one with millions of downloads. Not the one with a thousand.
The more you use your device the more you'll understand. I download plenty of apps from XDA with very few downloads in the market and have been safe. But this comes from knowing and trusting a developer. That's why these forums rock. You can get in on an app in its infancy and help test it and make it grow.
--Sent from GlaDos baked potato
Google is eventually going to have to step in and put a stop to this, but more and more apps are requesting permissions that they have no business requesting. It is unfortunate, especially when the intrusive app is one you would like to have.
I choose to completely disregard any app that asks for permissions it is obvious it doesn't need. The exception being internet access for ads, as incorporating ads into an app can be a legitimate way for an app developer to generate revenue. (And the unsightly ads can be removed with an ad blocker like AdAway, so it's kind of a win-win).
However, if there is an app that you just "need" to download or would just like better control of your phone, you could download an app called "Permissions Denied." This app let's you decide what permissions are granted to each app.
i use LBE Privacy Guard to help manage my permissions. You can mark certain apps as trusted and deny specific permissions for other apps. Also lets you know when a specific app is trying to access certain functions. Only had it for a couple days but liking it so far.
i used to run an anti-virus, AVG to be specific, but after a while just decided to get smarter about what i install and have been going without one.

Android Should Let Users Choose Notification Privileges.

First of all, I know if I say something bad about Android, I get negative replies and maybe the thread is closed. That was what I got when I posted some criticism about Android's application uninstall interface. I am not a troll, I have 3 Android devices, it is just I want it to get better. I also use Apple products, and recently I bought a Logitech mouse and couldn't get the back/forward button on my Macbook, so I searched Apple user forum, and I found some user had asked/complained about it. I was shocked at that the other user's response was something like 'why use forward/backward button, how difficult is it to press the back button on the screen'. Apparently for some people, when they are in love with something, they just cannot find anything bad about it.
Anyways, back to the main story, we all admire Android for its freedom. But it seems to me, that the freedom of developer is much larger than that of users. I often receive junk notifications from apps I have installed. One app sent a notification at 2 or 3 AM. You may say, "uninstall it then", but what if I have bought it and I need to use it?
iOS solves this problem by letting users disable notifications per application. I don't know if I can do similar thing by adding custom modification or using a custom ROM, but think about 'normal' people, they don't know how to do such things and they have not much time to spend their weekends doing that kind of things.
Freedom is a good thing, but there should be a mechanism to prevent its misuse, like laws in real life. And I think the user should have an easy access to such mechanisms. I mean 'easy', not installing custom ROM or through rooting.
That's only possible in Android 4.1 Jellybean. If you have a way to update your device, do it
RoberGalarga said:
That's only possible in Android 4.1 Jellybean. If you have a way to update your device, do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^This
Unfortunately most of us are stuck running something older. Personally I think unwanted notifications from apps is a bad idea, and I will usually uninstall an app that does this just because I don't support devs that do this. Check to see if the app can have the notifications disabled in its settings.

[Q] lock down kid's smartphone

I have several outdated android smartphones laying around and would like to re-purpose one for an 8 year old.
The thing is, I cannot trust him not to install tons of adware and games on it and play it during school hours which will just cause trouble for everybody. What I'm thinking:
I need the ability to remotely enable/disable lock/unlock the phone and/or turn the phone on or off and/or time periods during which device is automatically locked or unlocked.
I need either a locked down modified cyanogen ROM (or equivalent) or I need to somehow setup everything from scratch.
GPS tracking (realtime constant monitoring isn't necessary but I'd like to be able to ping his location if I'm worried about him and maybe have some sort of perimeter alert system in case he strays into a dangerous neighborhood/gets kidnapped/whatever)
I also need to lockdown which contacts can be called/SMSed/telegramed/IMed/emailed
This kid is sharp, so if there is a way to circumvent these measures, he'll probably figure it out. But I'd like you're ideas and I'll try anyway. How would you go about this? If you're going to tell me I'm a horrible person for tracking my child, I know already.
wow your asking for alot OP. lol eaither this is a really dangours kid, or your extremely protective lol
eaither way il try and help as best as i can. for tracking you can use "wheres my android" app. its gps tracking after you text it a certain phrase, it gives the location to the phone you texted.
you can try cnmod and just install wa app passwors to lock the settings, so the kid wont change anything
Thanks for the reply. He isn't dangerous, he is more of the absent minded genius type. I'm more afraid a stranger will say "lets go to my place to build model rockets" and he won't be able to resist.
What do you mean "wa app passwords"?
You sort of addressed the tracking and locking down apps. Any ideas for contact control so he doesn't just use up all of the minutes calling buddies and 900 numbers?
Hello, what phone are you going to give your child?? What I'm thinking is putting custom rom on the device and use the multi user option if the rom supports it. Then maybe, (maybe) you'll be able to omit which things can see/use and disable some of the things you're asking for.
Good luck.
Sent from my 1+1
go0 said:
Thanks for the reply. He isn't dangerous, he is more of the absent minded genius type. I'm more afraid a stranger will say "lets go to my place to build model rockets" and he won't be able to resist.
What do you mean "wa app passwords"?
You sort of addressed the tracking and locking down apps. Any ideas for contact control so he doesn't just use up all of the minutes calling buddies and 900 numbers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We use MMGuardian Does everything you want and more and it's pretty cheap. I just assume you know a thing or two about Android so I'll tell you this, mmguardian is amazing, the only thing is you have to turn off persistent notifications for the app. I get why they don't have that built in, but just do that and hide that app and your as good as gold. You can add 'key words' that when come up in a text, IM, email or search, it will send you and alert on your phone. You get transcripts of their texts, im and email (which I was happy for, now I just find creepy and intrusive to my childs privacy) but it's pretty sold service OP

Looking for an app and/or bluetooth expert. To modify an app.

Full disclosure: I dont normally do forums so sorry if I do this wrong.
I purchased a Bluetooth Purification Mask named Atmoblue.
It originated in China. Ive had it for a few months now and it has bluetooth and there is an app for it but it looks like its taking forever for it to be moved over to English.
My question is how hard would it be for a person (or me, with no experience at all) to pull the basic functions out of the app?
For example I want to bypass the wechat login (cause, no) and basically get the pairing function up and running along with the fan speed and some of the auto features in the app and create a basic app til they release the full thing.
If any of you also want to try I can send you the link to the apk. Or if you would do it and require payment at completion how much would that cost?
In case you need to see the device just google Atmoblue.
Thanks again everyone.
mastershino said:
Full disclosure: I dont normally do forums so sorry if I do this wrong.
I purchased a Bluetooth Purification Mask named Atmoblue.
It originated in China. Ive had it for a few months now and it has bluetooth and there is an app for it but it looks like its taking forever for it to be moved over to English.
My question is how hard would it be for a person (or me, with no experience at all) to pull the basic functions out of the app?
For example I want to bypass the wechat login (cause, no) and basically get the pairing function up and running along with the fan speed and some of the auto features in the app and create a basic app til they release the full thing.
If any of you also want to try I can send you the link to the apk. Or if you would do it and require payment at completion how much would that cost?
In case you need to see the device just google Atmoblue.
Thanks again everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is pretty much a 99.9% chance that you won't find anyone to do this for you. The best you can hope for is someone might give you some links to guides showing how to decompile and edit apk files. What you would modify in the apk file to achieve your purposes would require you doing your own research to figure it out. You can ask further questions along the way about the things that you don't understand, but there are no guarantees that you will get any useful answers.
In other words, be prepared to dig in and do the work yourself, if you really want to accomplish this feat. If not, get used to dealing with the app the way it is.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Yea, i started researching the day I posted this. I've been reading and reading and reading. Ive gotten to the point where I now have access to the battery percentage. Currently, trying to figure out the characteristics in the device itself and the values needed to change each of the modes. Also, it looks like the app from the company is pretty much useless to try to use. Based on the code (from what I can understand after 2 days of research and starting off with 0 coding knowledge) the app has to use wechat to basically be able to access a server and then the server sends it back to the phone then the device. Meaning I can't just look in the code for what values I need, unless I was able to actually sign into wechat and record the log. Which I can't do since I don't have access to wechat.
So now I'm currently looking up how to write code in the programs I've found to write it and create a ui. Ive at least figured out uuids and figured out how to call up the battery percentage now. Only like 3 more settings to go! Wish me luck lol

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