4 ms·

I don't think it's possible for a non-apple/google app to access your address book on iOS or Android without you explicitly giving permission. Please correct me

I don't think it's possible for a non-apple/google app to access your address book on iOS or Android without you explicitly giving permission. Please correct me if I am wrong.

billiam 6y ago
If we're seriously arguing in HN over whether something as fundamental as this is going on , imagine the confusion among potential users of Signal.
- tialaramex 6y ago
  The fact users can become confused of something doesn't affect whether it's a fact or not. An insistence upon truths that contradict the facts works just fine except for the practical implications which are stubbornly unchanged. During WW2 there was tremendous innovation in the field of electronics and radio. Some way through the war, both sides began fitting relatively small radio transmitters to aircraft, which enables an equipped aircraft to actively transmit. So one obvious idea is to transmit "Hey I'm friendly" and then you know not to send up interceptors. So there's a nice switch on your bomber aeroplane that activates this fancy new "I'm friendly" transmitter, you are trained to switch it on as you return to base, and the chap fitting it seems damn sure it's important to switch it off when leaving. Which is odd right? I mean, it prevents getting shot down, stands to reason you'd turn it on all the time. And so, despite the urging of those who understood how it works, leaving it switched on was indeed common practice, and commanders would defend their crews for doing this, arguing that the perceived safety of the "Don't shoot me down" transmitter allowed them to press home attacks in conditions where it might otherwise be prudent to withdraw. Which is funny because of course the reason to switch off the transmitter is that it's a free homing beacon for enemy fighters and anti-aircraft weapons, so in choosing to do this they were actually significantly increasing their danger of death.
blendergeek 6y ago
On Android at least, the apps have to ask for permission to see your contacts.
bosswipe 6y ago
Before Android Marshmallow the contact permission wasn't explicitly requested. Marshmallow became widely available in 2016.
- bigiain 6y ago
  Oh that's interesting. I don't suppose anybody knows if Android version of Signal back in the 2014-2016 period asked for contact permission (in a non Android mandated way)? Ie if post 2016 Android Signal app running on pre-marshmellow Android versions does?
  - leptons 6y ago
    Even if it does ask for permission to my contacts, I don't like the use case of it importing all of my contacts. It's all-or-nothing, and if I choose no then the app may not install. Again, I don't really remember giving the app permission to my contacts, so maybe it's my bad, but I would have liked to have been able to choose which contacts to import and not just everyone. I remember this happened after an update, and to continue chatting with my friends, I'm not sure I had much of a choice but to give it access to my contacts. I don't really trust Signal all that much, but my friends seem to. It's founded by "Moxy Marlinspike" which is a guy with a made-up name, who Twitter hired to fix their security issues - and it looks like they wasted their money on that, so I don't have the most confidence in "Moxy" to really keep my chats private.

I don't think it's possible for a non-apple/google app to access your address book on iOS or Android without you explicitly giving permission. Please correct me if I am wrong.

billiam 6y ago

If we're seriously arguing in HN over whether something as fundamental as this is going on , imagine the confusion among potential users of Signal.

tialaramex 6y ago
The fact users can become confused of something doesn't affect whether it's a fact or not. An insistence upon truths that contradict the facts works just fine except for the practical implications which are stubbornly unchanged. During WW2 there was tremendous innovation in the field of electronics and radio. Some way through the war, both sides began fitting relatively small radio transmitters to aircraft, which enables an equipped aircraft to actively transmit. So one obvious idea is to transmit "Hey I'm friendly" and then you know not to send up interceptors. So there's a nice switch on your bomber aeroplane that activates this fancy new "I'm friendly" transmitter, you are trained to switch it on as you return to base, and the chap fitting it seems damn sure it's important to switch it off when leaving. Which is odd right? I mean, it prevents getting shot down, stands to reason you'd turn it on all the time. And so, despite the urging of those who understood how it works, leaving it switched on was indeed common practice, and commanders would defend their crews for doing this, arguing that the perceived safety of the "Don't shoot me down" transmitter allowed them to press home attacks in conditions where it might otherwise be prudent to withdraw. Which is funny because of course the reason to switch off the transmitter is that it's a free homing beacon for enemy fighters and anti-aircraft weapons, so in choosing to do this they were actually significantly increasing their danger of death.

blendergeek 6y ago

On Android at least, the apps have to ask for permission to see your contacts.

bosswipe 6y ago

Before Android Marshmallow the contact permission wasn't explicitly requested. Marshmallow became widely available in 2016.

bigiain 6y ago
Oh that's interesting. I don't suppose anybody knows if Android version of Signal back in the 2014-2016 period asked for contact permission (in a non Android mandated way)? Ie if post 2016 Android Signal app running on pre-marshmellow Android versions does?
- leptons 6y ago
  Even if it does ask for permission to my contacts, I don't like the use case of it importing all of my contacts. It's all-or-nothing, and if I choose no then the app may not install. Again, I don't really remember giving the app permission to my contacts, so maybe it's my bad, but I would have liked to have been able to choose which contacts to import and not just everyone. I remember this happened after an update, and to continue chatting with my friends, I'm not sure I had much of a choice but to give it access to my contacts. I don't really trust Signal all that much, but my friends seem to. It's founded by "Moxy Marlinspike" which is a guy with a made-up name, who Twitter hired to fix their security issues - and it looks like they wasted their money on that, so I don't have the most confidence in "Moxy" to really keep my chats private.