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Such things are never going to come to Android are they? Every preinstalled app abuses every permission possible
by ffpip 6y ago
Such things are never going to come to Android are they? Every preinstalled app abuses every permission possible
- cmeacham98 6y agoPre-installed apps where you can't disable them or revoke their permissions are a cancer on the Android ecosystem. Especially fun when they have permissions like "access the filesystem" or "obtain device location" or "send notifications".
- ffpip 6y agoThere used to be a security app on my MIUI phone. Security apps can't do anything on android, because each app is sandboxed. But of course, it had full non-revocable permissions including physical sensors, precise location, contacts, camera and microphone. I hope someone cracks open their 'security' app and controls every MIUI device, just for them to learn their lesson.
- wadkar 6y agoI am getting a feeling that that might be the reason for it’s existence
- wvenable 6y agoAre there pre-installed apps you can't disable? I have a bunch disabled on my phone.
- cma 6y agoWith a user controlled Android phone, you can just feed apps you don't trust fake location data. But now Google has started restricting user-owned Android to a fixed number of flashes or something, or they get locked out of Google Play Services.
- expectsomuch 6y agoCan't tell if this is a serious reply.
- cma 6y agohttps://www.xda-developers.com/fake-android-location/ https://www.xda-developers.com/fake-android-location/ https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-fix-device-not-certified-by-google-error/ https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-fix-device-not-certifi...
- dheera 6y agoWith most Android devices, at least you have the option to install a different OS (e.g. LineageOS) that allows you to spoof all such data, including to Google, which IMO provides a better level of safeguarding against tracking. With iOS, the closed source OS and lack of alternatives fundamentally means that Apple Inc. gets to secretly violate your privacy while they play the moral high ground. Ultimately the best security comes when you, the user, control the device AND the OS. EDIT: Apple fanboys downvoting me again, eh? You worship Apple or something that would never do something wrong (ha)? Enjoy your HN echo chamber.
- derefr 6y agoIt’s hard to prove that this is a fix (i.e. I can prove it for my device, but your device might be special), but you can always just install a VPN app that doesn’t actually connect to a VPN, but rather acts in a LittleSnitch-alike way to the traffic it’s proxying. I believe this is, in part, how CloudFlare’s 1.1.1.1 app works on iOS.
- actuator 6y agoI agree with this completely. The best security is and when we can load a custom open source OS where we can see what is going on inside. The OS doesn't control what apps am I allowed to install, the OS just takes care of the apps being limited to what the user gave them permission for.
- lern_too_spel 6y agoOn Android, you can deny permissions to preinstalled apps (I just verified this myself) or even disable the apps entirely, which unlinks all entry points into the app. On iOS, they just sit there sucking up your data like iMessage keeping track of everybody you message.
- flukus 6y agoWith android the tracking is baked into the OS, I'd worry about that before worrying about apps with less permissions.
- actuator 6y agoI have been using Android for a long time, I don't find this to be true. Can you qualify as to what Google collects on a standard Pixel phone which they don't ask for?
- Dahoon 6y agoThis is about tracking via gps. Exactly the same rules as Google play.
- actuator 6y agoAs some others have mentioned, this is not true at all for phones like Pixel at least. Last I checked, I had to provide permission to each app that came in the phone. I can deny access to location to even Google Maps. I think Google largely went wrong with Pixel 4 hardware, but my three year old Pixel 2 still runs sharp and I have always wondered why it didn't grab a bigger share of Android pie.