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I tried doing something like this, but it didn't work for Bank of America, as their minimum alert level is $100. When I lived in Slovenia, I could set SMS aler

I tried doing something like this, but it didn't work for Bank of America, as their minimum alert level is $100. When I lived in Slovenia, I could set SMS alerts from my bank there (UniCredit). I wrote an Android app [1] that intercepted those SMS messages and parsed out the relevant bits. Those were the days... [1] https://github.com/loisaidasam/poor-mans-money-counter https://github.com/loisaidasam/poor-mans-money-counter

djrogers 8y ago
> I wrote an Android app [1] that intercepted those SMS messages and parsed out the relevant bits. Sounds like a nice hack, but at a meta level, I find the idea that a mobile platform even allows an app to ‘intercept’ SMS messages to be a little troubling.
- TomMarius 8y ago
  Well, it doesn't. You have to do a lot of things in order to allow it that it's impossible to not know exactly what you're doing. I think it's positive that I am in control of my device when I want to.
  - jsjohnst 8y ago
    Actually there are quite a few popular Android apps that bulk harvested SMSes, so your point in defense of its security is rather weak.
    - TomMarius 8y ago
      But that was in the past, right? Current version shouldn't allow it unless user explicitly agrees.
      - jsjohnst 8y ago
        It was permissioned before too. The general population mostly doesn’t understand what they are giving up when they agree to that when an app asks.
        loisaidasam 8y ago
        A few things - 1. In order to achieve this functionality, the app explicitly requires permission to receive SMS [1] [2] 2. I agree that the general population likely isn't fully aware of the implications of granting permissions for such things. Having said that, I think that privacy/security/transparency is one of the things constantly being worked on with subsequent Android OS updates [3] [4], and I think that things are getting better. Personally, I don't grant access to sensors like microphone/camera/location to apps that I don't want using them (most apps), and I think people should be aware of potential hazards here. Then again, people are openly inviting Amazon Alexa and Google Home into their homes ... On the other hand, as a developer I like having the ability to build this, for me, and potentially for others who find use for what I wrote, with full transparency/visibility into the source. [1] https://github.com/loisaidasam/poor-mans-money-counter/blob/dc35e75c2ad57a658a849fba54e96f2d8a6af2d8/AndroidManifest.xml#L7 https://github.com/loisaidasam/poor-mans-money-counter/blob/... [2] https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission#RECEIVE_SMS https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.per... [3] https://www.android.com/security-center/ https://www.android.com/security-center/ [4] https://www.android.com/versions/pie-9-0/ https://www.android.com/versions/pie-9-0/

djrogers 8y ago

> I wrote an Android app [1] that intercepted those SMS messages and parsed out the relevant bits. Sounds like a nice hack, but at a meta level, I find the idea that a mobile platform even allows an app to ‘intercept’ SMS messages to be a little troubling.

TomMarius 8y ago
Well, it doesn't. You have to do a lot of things in order to allow it that it's impossible to not know exactly what you're doing. I think it's positive that I am in control of my device when I want to.
- jsjohnst 8y ago
  Actually there are quite a few popular Android apps that bulk harvested SMSes, so your point in defense of its security is rather weak.
  - TomMarius 8y ago
    But that was in the past, right? Current version shouldn't allow it unless user explicitly agrees.
    - jsjohnst 8y ago
      It was permissioned before too. The general population mostly doesn’t understand what they are giving up when they agree to that when an app asks.
      - loisaidasam 8y ago
        A few things - 1. In order to achieve this functionality, the app explicitly requires permission to receive SMS [1] [2] 2. I agree that the general population likely isn't fully aware of the implications of granting permissions for such things. Having said that, I think that privacy/security/transparency is one of the things constantly being worked on with subsequent Android OS updates [3] [4], and I think that things are getting better. Personally, I don't grant access to sensors like microphone/camera/location to apps that I don't want using them (most apps), and I think people should be aware of potential hazards here. Then again, people are openly inviting Amazon Alexa and Google Home into their homes ... On the other hand, as a developer I like having the ability to build this, for me, and potentially for others who find use for what I wrote, with full transparency/visibility into the source. [1] https://github.com/loisaidasam/poor-mans-money-counter/blob/dc35e75c2ad57a658a849fba54e96f2d8a6af2d8/AndroidManifest.xml#L7 https://github.com/loisaidasam/poor-mans-money-counter/blob/... [2] https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission#RECEIVE_SMS https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.per... [3] https://www.android.com/security-center/ https://www.android.com/security-center/ [4] https://www.android.com/versions/pie-9-0/ https://www.android.com/versions/pie-9-0/