4 ms·

Why is Android Studio's Emulator always listening to my microphone?

79 points by Zenbit_UX 7y ago

reificator 7y ago
It wouldn't be an accurate Android emulator without that feature.
- tus88 7y ago
  I wonder if AI would detect this as sarcasm or not.
  - kylek 7y ago
    I wonder if this is how an AI would respond when it meets an exception glares
pcroh 7y ago
>I received a pop up in which Android Studio requests permission to access my microphone. Uh? What OS shows that? Perhaps a newer Mac OS?
- dddddaviddddd 7y ago
  Since Micro Snitch is referenced in one of the comments, yes. https://www.obdev.at/products/microsnitch/index.html https://www.obdev.at/products/microsnitch/index.html
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
  Yes, OSX 10.14.5 but I've seen this issue on 10.12 and believe it's likely all versions.
egdod 7y ago
Welcome to modern computing.
newnewpdro 7y ago
Isn't the emulator emulating devices having a microphone like phones and such? It seems rational for it to plumb the host's microphone into the emulated one, so such features may be tested etc.
- pcroh 7y ago
  Get out of here with that logic. Just make a joke on how Google spies on us and be done with it.
- lucideer 7y ago
  It keeps the microphone actively listening even if no apps are using it / have requested access. This isn't something that any other app needing microphone does. Case in point: if you use Chrome, and start a Google Hangouts calls, the website will request mic access. Only then will it activate the mic, and it will deactivate after the call.
  - newnewpdro 7y ago
    Android Studio does or the emulator does? If Android Studio does then I'd be more up in arms. For the emulator to do that, I'd assume it's just a matter of laziness on the part of the developers. The emulator probably just opens the audio junk at startup and doesn't bother with the rigamarole of opening and closing it as needed - it's a device emulator intended for development use, they probably don't expect it to be running constantly unattended on a developers workstation. File a bug upstream, if it's closed with EWONTFIX, then break out the tinfoil hats and shout from the hill tops.
  - juliangoldsmith 7y ago
    The Android Studio Emulator emulates a full x86 system running Android, from the kernel up. There isn't a way to only listen if an app needs it, because the emulator doesn't work at that level. What the emulator could do would be to add an "Emulate microphone" checkbox, but that probably isn't high on Google's priority list.
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
catalogia 7y ago
There is a certain sense of poetic justice that developers of Android applications be subjected to invasive spyware, since that describes the vast majority of applications those developers create. At this point I avoid all apps that aren't from F-Droid. Both Google and Amazon's android app stores are packed to the gills with software that wants to spy on me and advertise to me.
- altShiftDev 7y ago
  This seems rather off topic and unproductive to the effort of solving the SO ticket. I highly doubt it's a matter of Google spying on developers, more likely a bug or weird interaction with the OS.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    > "unproductive to the effort of solving the SO ticket." That's an odd thing to object to. I have no interest in resolving the SO ticket. Google doesn't pay me to fix their problems and nor am I inclined to donate my labor to a for-profit corporation.
sdinsn 7y ago
Why is a 1 year old stack overflow question (with no answers) being reposted to HN? (Also, I cannot replicate this by the way)
- djmips 7y ago
  I thought HN audience was smart and not manipulated by inflammatory headlines.
monocasa 7y ago
It just enables the microphone at emulated device instantiation time. Easier than enabling/and disabling it at runtime. https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/qemu/+/a7c579bdcbe2543472535718d3b637cb864f6f36/hw/android/goldfish/audio.c#288 https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/qemu/+/a7...
biktor_gj 7y ago
Doesn't the Android emulator run in QEMU? And doesn't qemu actually emulate a Soundcard? So it makes sense that when the emulator starts and boots the kernel in the VM it will probe the devices and act as an audio in&out pass thru, like the virtual SD card, or like the network connection or everything else really... Coding a special SDK image to adapt to the host system permissions doesnt make any sense. Android will always have access to hardware, and you're testing that it will work on Android, not on an emulator...
edmundo 7y ago
The same happens with the iOS Simulator. I noticed when developing an app (that doesn't need any microphone permissions itself), my noise cancelling headphones would stop the noise cancelling feature, like it happens when calling someone and using the microphone. Resetting the permissions and denying “fixed” the issue for me. Can't understand why the Simulator needs it.

79 points by Zenbit_UX 7y ago

reificator 7y ago

It wouldn't be an accurate Android emulator without that feature.

tus88 7y ago
I wonder if AI would detect this as sarcasm or not.
- kylek 7y ago
  I wonder if this is how an AI would respond when it meets an exception glares

pcroh 7y ago

>I received a pop up in which Android Studio requests permission to access my microphone. Uh? What OS shows that? Perhaps a newer Mac OS?

dddddaviddddd 7y ago
Since Micro Snitch is referenced in one of the comments, yes. https://www.obdev.at/products/microsnitch/index.html https://www.obdev.at/products/microsnitch/index.html
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
Zenbit_UX 7y ago
Yes, OSX 10.14.5 but I've seen this issue on 10.12 and believe it's likely all versions.

egdod 7y ago

Welcome to modern computing.

newnewpdro 7y ago

Isn't the emulator emulating devices having a microphone like phones and such? It seems rational for it to plumb the host's microphone into the emulated one, so such features may be tested etc.

pcroh 7y ago
Get out of here with that logic. Just make a joke on how Google spies on us and be done with it.
lucideer 7y ago
It keeps the microphone actively listening even if no apps are using it / have requested access. This isn't something that any other app needing microphone does. Case in point: if you use Chrome, and start a Google Hangouts calls, the website will request mic access. Only then will it activate the mic, and it will deactivate after the call.
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  Android Studio does or the emulator does? If Android Studio does then I'd be more up in arms. For the emulator to do that, I'd assume it's just a matter of laziness on the part of the developers. The emulator probably just opens the audio junk at startup and doesn't bother with the rigamarole of opening and closing it as needed - it's a device emulator intended for development use, they probably don't expect it to be running constantly unattended on a developers workstation. File a bug upstream, if it's closed with EWONTFIX, then break out the tinfoil hats and shout from the hill tops.
- juliangoldsmith 7y ago
  The Android Studio Emulator emulates a full x86 system running Android, from the kernel up. There isn't a way to only listen if an app needs it, because the emulator doesn't work at that level. What the emulator could do would be to add an "Emulate microphone" checkbox, but that probably isn't high on Google's priority list.
Zenbit_UX 7y ago

catalogia 7y ago

There is a certain sense of poetic justice that developers of Android applications be subjected to invasive spyware, since that describes the vast majority of applications those developers create. At this point I avoid all apps that aren't from F-Droid. Both Google and Amazon's android app stores are packed to the gills with software that wants to spy on me and advertise to me.

altShiftDev 7y ago
This seems rather off topic and unproductive to the effort of solving the SO ticket. I highly doubt it's a matter of Google spying on developers, more likely a bug or weird interaction with the OS.
- catalogia 7y ago
  > "unproductive to the effort of solving the SO ticket." That's an odd thing to object to. I have no interest in resolving the SO ticket. Google doesn't pay me to fix their problems and nor am I inclined to donate my labor to a for-profit corporation.

sdinsn 7y ago

Why is a 1 year old stack overflow question (with no answers) being reposted to HN? (Also, I cannot replicate this by the way)

djmips 7y ago
I thought HN audience was smart and not manipulated by inflammatory headlines.

monocasa 7y ago

It just enables the microphone at emulated device instantiation time. Easier than enabling/and disabling it at runtime. https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/qemu/+/a7c579bdcbe2543472535718d3b637cb864f6f36/hw/android/goldfish/audio.c#288 https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/qemu/+/a7...

biktor_gj 7y ago

Doesn't the Android emulator run in QEMU? And doesn't qemu actually emulate a Soundcard? So it makes sense that when the emulator starts and boots the kernel in the VM it will probe the devices and act as an audio in&out pass thru, like the virtual SD card, or like the network connection or everything else really... Coding a special SDK image to adapt to the host system permissions doesnt make any sense. Android will always have access to hardware, and you're testing that it will work on Android, not on an emulator...

edmundo 7y ago

The same happens with the iOS Simulator. I noticed when developing an app (that doesn't need any microphone permissions itself), my noise cancelling headphones would stop the noise cancelling feature, like it happens when calling someone and using the microphone. Resetting the permissions and denying “fixed” the issue for me. Can't understand why the Simulator needs it.