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It wouldn't surprise me if something similar were happening on Android. To minimise issues like this, I use DroidWall on my rooted G1 to prevent apps connecting

It wouldn't surprise me if something similar were happening on Android. To minimise issues like this, I use DroidWall on my rooted G1 to prevent apps connecting to servers on the net if I don't think they have a good reason to.

asymptotic 16y ago
FTA, keep in mind that issue is not whether there are unique identifiers of any sort on phones. Any of the IMEI, SIM, or UUID (or equivalent) on a phone can uniquely identify you. This is a fact of life. However, the real issue is whether your phone can share such information _without your explicit permission_. This is _not possible on the Android_. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2322234/how-to-find-serial-number-of-android-device http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2322234/how-to-find-seria... You need to have android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE permissions in order to get the unique identifier, hence users, before installing an application, will be able to determine whether their particular application is capable of doing so.
- MichaelGG 16y ago
  FFS, that's what "Read phone state" means? I've been installing apps that request that as I thought it meant it let them not interrupt my calls, or closer nicer when a call comes in, or something along those lines. It seemed a bit odd, but I had no idea it exposed yet another unique ID. Android needs a system-wide setting that simply returns a null ID (or app+hardware specific ID, so it's useless for tracking) to all apps, regardless of specific app permissions.
  - biafra 16y ago
    In the Android Market it says: ----- SNIP ------- Phone calls read phone state and identity Allows the application to access the phone features of the device. An application with this permission can determine the phone number and serial number of this phone, whether a call is active, the number that call is connected to and the like. ----- SNIP ------- But those should be two separate permissions. One for checking if the user is on a call and a different one for reading the UDID, IMSI or IMEI.
  - ben1040 16y ago
    I wrote a streaming media app and I request that permission so I can mute audio when a call comes in. I don't need or want users' other personal details, muting audio on a call is just what good apps do. I hate how shady my app looks on the market when it's listed as requesting permission to get a user's IMEI and subscriber info.
- ddlatham 16y ago
  There are other Android identifiers, one of which does not require the READ_PHONE_STATE permission. http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/03/identifying-app-installations.html http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/03/identifying-a...

asymptotic 16y ago

FTA, keep in mind that issue is not whether there are unique identifiers of any sort on phones. Any of the IMEI, SIM, or UUID (or equivalent) on a phone can uniquely identify you. This is a fact of life. However, the real issue is whether your phone can share such information _without your explicit permission_. This is _not possible on the Android_. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2322234/how-to-find-serial-number-of-android-device http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2322234/how-to-find-seria... You need to have android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE permissions in order to get the unique identifier, hence users, before installing an application, will be able to determine whether their particular application is capable of doing so.

MichaelGG 16y ago
FFS, that's what "Read phone state" means? I've been installing apps that request that as I thought it meant it let them not interrupt my calls, or closer nicer when a call comes in, or something along those lines. It seemed a bit odd, but I had no idea it exposed yet another unique ID. Android needs a system-wide setting that simply returns a null ID (or app+hardware specific ID, so it's useless for tracking) to all apps, regardless of specific app permissions.
- biafra 16y ago
  In the Android Market it says: ----- SNIP ------- Phone calls read phone state and identity Allows the application to access the phone features of the device. An application with this permission can determine the phone number and serial number of this phone, whether a call is active, the number that call is connected to and the like. ----- SNIP ------- But those should be two separate permissions. One for checking if the user is on a call and a different one for reading the UDID, IMSI or IMEI.
- ben1040 16y ago
  I wrote a streaming media app and I request that permission so I can mute audio when a call comes in. I don't need or want users' other personal details, muting audio on a call is just what good apps do. I hate how shady my app looks on the market when it's listed as requesting permission to get a user's IMEI and subscriber info.
ddlatham 16y ago
There are other Android identifiers, one of which does not require the READ_PHONE_STATE permission. http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/03/identifying-app-installations.html http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/03/identifying-a...