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I have done mobile development (both iOS and Android) for a long time and am well aware how sandboxing works. You've misunderstood the issue if you think sandbo
by nodamage 5y ago
I have done mobile development (both iOS and Android) for a long time and am well aware how sandboxing works. You've misunderstood the issue if you think sandboxing sufficiently solves this problem.
Let me flip the question, are you aware what types of data apps collect in order to fingerprint a device? These are the same low level APIs that apps need for legitimate purposes, you can't simply disable them or put a permissions prompt in front of each one.
- fastball 5y agoYes, I am very aware of what types of data apps collect in order to fingerprint a device. That is exactly why I firmly believe this problem should be solved at the OS level, not at the App Store level. Because I trust a technological solutions much more than I trust App Store reviewers at Apple. This is why I prefer an E2EE chat service to a service that is not but says "we promise we won't read your messages".
- nodamage 5y agoDo you really expect the OS to block apps from accessing screen size, locale, fonts, time zone, GPU metrics, accessibility settings, etc. when they actually need these APIs for legitimate purposes? Location and microphone permissions are red herrings when it comes to fingerprinting. You're also neglecting the fact that malicious apps can mislead the user by prompting for permissions for a seemingly legitimate purpose and then abuse those permissions once granted.