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I have Xprivacy and Cyanogenmod's privacy guard, and also use the Amazon Underground store and apps. I can tell you that with location, contacts, and most other

I have Xprivacy and Cyanogenmod's privacy guard, and also use the Amazon Underground store and apps. I can tell you that with location, contacts, and most other permissions blocked the apps work just fine. So whatever the author did to get this result, it isn't from blocking permissions. It also seems strange that someone who cares so much about his privacy doesn't have xposed with Xprivacy, because then he could have spoofed the data instead of having to block it all together.

dajbelshaw 11y ago
Hey, OP here. Thanks for the mention of Xprivacy - I wasn't aware of it. :) Like everyone else, I'm always learning. Just sharing this post for others who weren't aware of Amazon's business model here (which does seem somewhat hidden).
- zobzu 11y ago
  its a setting in the amazon app, to enable tracking. it doesnt mean it'll be able to track, but it'll work.
mtgx 11y ago
Using Xprivacy probably means you're giving up a significant portion of your security for increased privacy. When you are rooted and your bootloader is unlocked you're more exposed to hacking and malware. Also, last I heard the most popular root application by far (SuperSU) was silently acquired by a Chinese company. I'm not saying you shouldn't use Xprivacy or other root-enabled apps, though, as some are very useful and it may be the only way to get Google to build in some of those features eventually, but just be aware of the trade-off you're making.
- dannyrosen 11y ago
  Would you mind providing references to these claims?
- xorcist 11y ago
  I thought "rooted" in the Android sense just meant that you had sudo installed. Why would malware be helped by having sudo installed? A privilege escalation attack has no use for it, unless you think there are security holes in sudo. Has there been or do you have reason to believe there are? I heard these statements before and I'm never sure what to make of it. For a casual user, the possibility to click yes to a sudo dialog is a code path to disaster, but as these things need to be flashed specifically (which is a big hurdle in itself) I'm not sure how big problem it is in practice.
- Akkuma 11y ago
  I think you're thinking of KingUser aka Kingo now and not SuperSU.
thewhitetulip 11y ago
For those who love privacy and aren't addicted to smart phones use a non smart phone :) The best way to save your data.
- rms_returns 11y ago
  We might as well ditch technology altogether and travel in bullock carts instead of airplanes, then. If tech has a problem, then solve it rather than throwing that tech away.
  - thewhitetulip 11y ago
    >We might as well ditch technology altogether Why? Does your public transport track your trips? do they sell your data to Uber/lyft so lyft/uber bombards you with save x% on your next trip? >travel in bullock carts instead of airplanes Why? are all airline companies owned by one entity which also owns a host of other companies which can abuse your data from one service for their advantage? >If tech has a problem, then solve it rather than throwing that tech away No, what I said was people who want real privacy and who aren't addicted to smartphones use a non smart phone this doesn't mean we fear the end of world like George Orwell.
- smt88 11y ago
  I also stay indoors so that public security cameras can't see me :) I don't have a bank account or Amazon account :) I live curled up in my basement shaking with terror at the prospect of my privacy being violated :)
  - thewhitetulip 11y ago
    okay, this is the same attitude I am met with when I say this statement. There seems to be a either full optimistic response or a pessimistic response. I am not saying abandon smartphones all ye who want privacy, I am saying that for those who aren't addicted to smartphones and want privacy they use non smart phones. In a world where a private company owns public security cameras, yeah you should stay indoors because they track you every hour of every day, they built a machine to spy on you and they'll devour you. Doing something is subject to realizing if the +ve aspects outweigh the -ve aspects, in a world where Google owns android/chrome/search/gmail/nest/adsense {insert million products here} In this digital world these companies know more about us from analytic than we ourselves know, but that doesn't mean being pessimistic to anyone who suggests a particular use case for maintaining privacy.
ignoramous 11y ago
XposedMod is a security black-hole. Someone who's paranoid enough about Privacy would consider staying away from XposedMod too.
- anc84 11y ago
  Could you elaborate?
  - ignoramous 11y ago
    In a nutshell, its a framework that allows arbitrary code to be injected into apps and android itself. https://www.mysonicwall.com/sonicalert/searchresults.aspx?ev=article&id=751 https://www.mysonicwall.com/sonicalert/searchresults.aspx?ev... http://blog.itsnotfound.com/2013/04/xposed-framework/ http://blog.itsnotfound.com/2013/04/xposed-framework/
    - anc84 11y ago
      Yeah, that's the point I believe. As long as I trust the modules it should be fine or are there other dangers?
      - ignoramous 11y ago
        Yes, if you believe the original developers, who maintain that they've got the security aspect covered (since user-approval is required prior to granting a module the permissions it requires). I haven't seen any professional do a formal security review of XposedMod yet, but any sec-bug in XposedMod is sure to bring about a huge head-ache for everyone concerned about privacy/surveillance/etc.

dajbelshaw 11y ago

Hey, OP here. Thanks for the mention of Xprivacy - I wasn't aware of it. :) Like everyone else, I'm always learning. Just sharing this post for others who weren't aware of Amazon's business model here (which does seem somewhat hidden).

zobzu 11y ago
its a setting in the amazon app, to enable tracking. it doesnt mean it'll be able to track, but it'll work.

mtgx 11y ago

Using Xprivacy probably means you're giving up a significant portion of your security for increased privacy. When you are rooted and your bootloader is unlocked you're more exposed to hacking and malware. Also, last I heard the most popular root application by far (SuperSU) was silently acquired by a Chinese company. I'm not saying you shouldn't use Xprivacy or other root-enabled apps, though, as some are very useful and it may be the only way to get Google to build in some of those features eventually, but just be aware of the trade-off you're making.

dannyrosen 11y ago
Would you mind providing references to these claims?
xorcist 11y ago
I thought "rooted" in the Android sense just meant that you had sudo installed. Why would malware be helped by having sudo installed? A privilege escalation attack has no use for it, unless you think there are security holes in sudo. Has there been or do you have reason to believe there are? I heard these statements before and I'm never sure what to make of it. For a casual user, the possibility to click yes to a sudo dialog is a code path to disaster, but as these things need to be flashed specifically (which is a big hurdle in itself) I'm not sure how big problem it is in practice.
Akkuma 11y ago
I think you're thinking of KingUser aka Kingo now and not SuperSU.

thewhitetulip 11y ago

For those who love privacy and aren't addicted to smart phones use a non smart phone :) The best way to save your data.

rms_returns 11y ago
We might as well ditch technology altogether and travel in bullock carts instead of airplanes, then. If tech has a problem, then solve it rather than throwing that tech away.
- thewhitetulip 11y ago
  >We might as well ditch technology altogether Why? Does your public transport track your trips? do they sell your data to Uber/lyft so lyft/uber bombards you with save x% on your next trip? >travel in bullock carts instead of airplanes Why? are all airline companies owned by one entity which also owns a host of other companies which can abuse your data from one service for their advantage? >If tech has a problem, then solve it rather than throwing that tech away No, what I said was people who want real privacy and who aren't addicted to smartphones use a non smart phone this doesn't mean we fear the end of world like George Orwell.
smt88 11y ago
I also stay indoors so that public security cameras can't see me :) I don't have a bank account or Amazon account :) I live curled up in my basement shaking with terror at the prospect of my privacy being violated :)
- thewhitetulip 11y ago
  okay, this is the same attitude I am met with when I say this statement. There seems to be a either full optimistic response or a pessimistic response. I am not saying abandon smartphones all ye who want privacy, I am saying that for those who aren't addicted to smartphones and want privacy they use non smart phones. In a world where a private company owns public security cameras, yeah you should stay indoors because they track you every hour of every day, they built a machine to spy on you and they'll devour you. Doing something is subject to realizing if the +ve aspects outweigh the -ve aspects, in a world where Google owns android/chrome/search/gmail/nest/adsense {insert million products here} In this digital world these companies know more about us from analytic than we ourselves know, but that doesn't mean being pessimistic to anyone who suggests a particular use case for maintaining privacy.

ignoramous 11y ago

XposedMod is a security black-hole. Someone who's paranoid enough about Privacy would consider staying away from XposedMod too.

anc84 11y ago
Could you elaborate?
- ignoramous 11y ago
  In a nutshell, its a framework that allows arbitrary code to be injected into apps and android itself. https://www.mysonicwall.com/sonicalert/searchresults.aspx?ev=article&id=751 https://www.mysonicwall.com/sonicalert/searchresults.aspx?ev... http://blog.itsnotfound.com/2013/04/xposed-framework/ http://blog.itsnotfound.com/2013/04/xposed-framework/
  - anc84 11y ago
    Yeah, that's the point I believe. As long as I trust the modules it should be fine or are there other dangers?
    - ignoramous 11y ago
      Yes, if you believe the original developers, who maintain that they've got the security aspect covered (since user-approval is required prior to granting a module the permissions it requires). I haven't seen any professional do a formal security review of XposedMod yet, but any sec-bug in XposedMod is sure to bring about a huge head-ache for everyone concerned about privacy/surveillance/etc.