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The linked tweeted image [0] at the end of the article is incredible. I haven't used Facebook in a few years and haven't used their app for longer so it's astou

The linked tweeted image [0] at the end of the article is incredible. I haven't used Facebook in a few years and haven't used their app for longer so it's astounding to me how much variety of data Facebook tries to get at. The social media I do use (basically just Twitter) I use on my phone through Chrome, not through their app. But the NYT app is more convenient than their site, as is Spotify and Youtube. Perhaps these apps are as invasive as Facebook and I did not realize. [0] https://twitter.com/_inside/status/1339689228549181440 https://twitter.com/_inside/status/1339689228549181440

Nextgrid 6y ago
> Spotify and Youtube Spotify contains the Facebook SDK which is basically spyware and pings Facebook with your device fingerprint and a unique ID generated on first run every time you open the app. YouTube comes from an advertising company so it's safe to assume they've got their own equivalent of the above that's equally malicious.
- eatonphil 6y ago
  According to the permissions page in Android settings I have no permissions granted to Spotify or Youtube.
  - Nextgrid 6y ago
    You don't need any specific permissions to collect a near-unique device fingerprint. iOS is even more restrictive when it comes to that and yet fingerprinting devices is very easy if you collect the data over time and correlate with other data (from other apps or websites).
  - ffpip 6y ago
    You need zero permissions to get a list of all apps you have installed, your unique advertising ID and a common things like sensors and WiFi names. Plus full unrestricted internet access.
    - Kelamir 6y ago
      PrivacyBreacher (showcase privacy issues in Android) - https://f-droid.org/packages/io.nandandesai.privacybreacher https://f-droid.org/packages/io.nandandesai.privacybreacher proves the point
    - efreak 6y ago
      I think you mean you need zero revocable permissions. The permissions still need to be declared in the manifest, and can be viewed in app info. This is how it works on Android, anyways. I've used both root access and repackers that modify the manifest to remove offending permissions on the past (occasionally it works, but more often it results in the app crashing, especially when the permission is for network access)
      - ffpip 6y ago
        You don't need to declare the apps access and advertising ID in the manifest. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2695746/how-to-get-a-list-of-installed-android-applications-and-pick-one-to-run https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2695746/how-to-get-a-lis... https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25846108/how-to-get-advertising-id-in-android-programmatically https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25846108/how-to-get-adve...

Nextgrid 6y ago

> Spotify and Youtube Spotify contains the Facebook SDK which is basically spyware and pings Facebook with your device fingerprint and a unique ID generated on first run every time you open the app. YouTube comes from an advertising company so it's safe to assume they've got their own equivalent of the above that's equally malicious.

eatonphil 6y ago
According to the permissions page in Android settings I have no permissions granted to Spotify or Youtube.
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  You don't need any specific permissions to collect a near-unique device fingerprint. iOS is even more restrictive when it comes to that and yet fingerprinting devices is very easy if you collect the data over time and correlate with other data (from other apps or websites).
- ffpip 6y ago
  You need zero permissions to get a list of all apps you have installed, your unique advertising ID and a common things like sensors and WiFi names. Plus full unrestricted internet access.
  - Kelamir 6y ago
    PrivacyBreacher (showcase privacy issues in Android) - https://f-droid.org/packages/io.nandandesai.privacybreacher https://f-droid.org/packages/io.nandandesai.privacybreacher proves the point
  - efreak 6y ago
    I think you mean you need zero revocable permissions. The permissions still need to be declared in the manifest, and can be viewed in app info. This is how it works on Android, anyways. I've used both root access and repackers that modify the manifest to remove offending permissions on the past (occasionally it works, but more often it results in the app crashing, especially when the permission is for network access)
    - ffpip 6y ago
      You don't need to declare the apps access and advertising ID in the manifest. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2695746/how-to-get-a-list-of-installed-android-applications-and-pick-one-to-run https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2695746/how-to-get-a-lis... https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25846108/how-to-get-advertising-id-in-android-programmatically https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25846108/how-to-get-adve...