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The permissions mentioned sound like someone that doesn't understand the permissions systems used by Android and iPhone tried to translate them. So this part of

The permissions mentioned sound like someone that doesn't understand the permissions systems used by Android and iPhone tried to translate them. So this part of the article is almost useless as it is hard to figure out what permissions the app actually has. I don't understand the Android permissions system well enough here, but I would be especially curious about which API version this is targeting as I don't know how far back you can still go currently to avoid some of the stricter file access permissions newer versions added. As far as I can tell the most problematic storage-related permission in modern Android would be "MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" meant for apps like file browsers. And if the app actually requests this permission (or intentionally uses an older API level to get equivalent access) that would be a very clear and specific overreach. But I would also not be surprised at all if this kind of app asks for excessive permissions, and then provides a lot of telemetry and analytics and sends them somewhere. And in a country where e.g. homosexuality is illegal this kind of stuff presents additional dangers beyond compromising your privacy.

curiousgal 4y ago
- fabian2k 4y ago
  My point was that in countries that make private, consensual activities against the law there are much more severe consequences possible for events that compromise your privacy.
  - curiousgal 4y ago
    - jl6 4y ago
      A more likely scenario which mirrors how discriminatory laws work elsewhere: 1. Get arrested for a minor offence like speeding. 2. Law enforcement checks your app and infers you are gay (maybe wedding photos of you and your spouse?) 3. It was going to be just a fine, but now you are facing prosecution for the much more serious offence of being gay. 4. Law enforcement officer can make the charges disappear for the right fee, or maybe just decides to go ahead with the much more serious prosecution. 5. Let’s hope you’re not gay and Muslim, because you’re then facing the death penalty too.
      - truemotive 4y ago
        No, it’s worse. All of these steps are asynchronous besides #1, which they don’t need to do upfront… We are apparently in the age of “I can draw a square on google maps, so that makes me privy to [chunk of mass privacy information]”. Worse is they don’t even need the mapping platform to cooperate. Most of this information probably still flows through second-party data brokers or else we would have heard whispers that those organizations are “too big to fail” or something.
        markdown 4y ago
        Yup, women in the US need to be extremely careful about the apps they install. In Texas, app devs can get massive bounties for reporting if a woman has a medical procedure.
        leereeves 4y ago
        Just a comment on your obfuscating language: lethal injection is also a medical procedure. Abortion is a complex issue that should be discussed honestly, not obfuscated.
        addicted 4y ago
        Lethal injection is not a medical procedure. If it was a medical procedure it wouldn’t make the recipient’s condition deliberately worse than it was before the procedure. Just because a procedure involves injecting chemicals in someone’s body doesn’t mean it’s medical. And abortion is not a complex issue. The only arguments against it are religious and there are religions which require it, so in a purportedly secular country the answer is very simple.
        baseballdork 4y ago
        > If it was a medical procedure it wouldn’t make the recipient’s condition deliberately worse than it was before the procedure. Would you consider donating a kidney to be a medical procedure? > And abortion is not a complex issue. I am super pro-choice, but this is a silly statement. Just go ask a bunch of pro-choice people at what point they believe abortion is wrong and you'll get a whole bunch of different answers.
  - markdown 4y ago
DeathArrow 4y ago
"And in a country where e.g. homosexuality is illegal this kind of stuff presents additional dangers beyond compromising your privacy." What are the dangers if you respect the laws of that country? You are in danger in any country if you entry it with the intent of breaking the laws.
- throwaway10291 4y ago
  Some of the players must be homosexual? Should they not enter Qatar, and scrafice playing for their country in the World Cup? Should Fifa hold the world cup in a country when some of their players could be prosecuted because of their sexuality?
  - jl6 4y ago
    FIFA was criticized for hosting the World Cup in a country that persecutes homosexuals. FIFA responded by extracting some concessionary-sounding statements from some Quatari officials. But the law hasn’t changed. Homosexuals who visit Qatar are most certainly still facing elevated risks. FIFA should be ashamed, but I suspect nobody has bribed them enough to activate their shame reflex yet.
  - AnnikaL 4y ago
    Qatar also practices modern-day slavery. https://dohanews.co/report-qatar-fifth-highest-proportion-slavery-world/ https://dohanews.co/report-qatar-fifth-highest-proportion-sl... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar#Slavery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar#Slavery
    - techdragon 4y ago
      I know it was more to talk about the slavery and human rights half but it’s sort of fascinating to see flogging in the penalty list. Makes me wonder if that would be a more effective punitive deterrent against recidivism. While I know some people get off from it and it wouldn’t deter everyone, I have to wonder how much more viscerally unwilling to risk the punishment the average criminal would be if instead of 6 months or a year or two, you got 10 to 100 with the lash. Is it more humane to have the violence over quickly and let the rehabilitation begin nearly immediately? Or better they rot away in jail mentally and emotionally for months to years making more associations with other criminals the longer they are in jail?
yannis 4y ago
From my phone: I have Eteraz installed Read and Write to the file system - required to allow storage of a small encrypted file which holds a unique ID, QR code, infection status, configuration parameters, and proximity data of other devices using the Application. Not much more than a cookie.
- h4x0rr 4y ago
  You can't know what it is reading though. The app could theoretically be sending all your photos to the government. Would be interesting to see someone reverse engineering it.
- orestarod 4y ago
  Is there a reason this must be in the user's file location and not in the app's own internal files?

curiousgal 4y ago

fabian2k 4y ago
My point was that in countries that make private, consensual activities against the law there are much more severe consequences possible for events that compromise your privacy.
- curiousgal 4y ago
  - jl6 4y ago
    A more likely scenario which mirrors how discriminatory laws work elsewhere: 1. Get arrested for a minor offence like speeding. 2. Law enforcement checks your app and infers you are gay (maybe wedding photos of you and your spouse?) 3. It was going to be just a fine, but now you are facing prosecution for the much more serious offence of being gay. 4. Law enforcement officer can make the charges disappear for the right fee, or maybe just decides to go ahead with the much more serious prosecution. 5. Let’s hope you’re not gay and Muslim, because you’re then facing the death penalty too.
    - truemotive 4y ago
      No, it’s worse. All of these steps are asynchronous besides #1, which they don’t need to do upfront… We are apparently in the age of “I can draw a square on google maps, so that makes me privy to [chunk of mass privacy information]”. Worse is they don’t even need the mapping platform to cooperate. Most of this information probably still flows through second-party data brokers or else we would have heard whispers that those organizations are “too big to fail” or something.
      - markdown 4y ago
        Yup, women in the US need to be extremely careful about the apps they install. In Texas, app devs can get massive bounties for reporting if a woman has a medical procedure.
        leereeves 4y ago
        Just a comment on your obfuscating language: lethal injection is also a medical procedure. Abortion is a complex issue that should be discussed honestly, not obfuscated.
        addicted 4y ago
        Lethal injection is not a medical procedure. If it was a medical procedure it wouldn’t make the recipient’s condition deliberately worse than it was before the procedure. Just because a procedure involves injecting chemicals in someone’s body doesn’t mean it’s medical. And abortion is not a complex issue. The only arguments against it are religious and there are religions which require it, so in a purportedly secular country the answer is very simple.
        baseballdork 4y ago
        > If it was a medical procedure it wouldn’t make the recipient’s condition deliberately worse than it was before the procedure. Would you consider donating a kidney to be a medical procedure? > And abortion is not a complex issue. I am super pro-choice, but this is a silly statement. Just go ask a bunch of pro-choice people at what point they believe abortion is wrong and you'll get a whole bunch of different answers.
- markdown 4y ago

DeathArrow 4y ago

"And in a country where e.g. homosexuality is illegal this kind of stuff presents additional dangers beyond compromising your privacy." What are the dangers if you respect the laws of that country? You are in danger in any country if you entry it with the intent of breaking the laws.

throwaway10291 4y ago
Some of the players must be homosexual? Should they not enter Qatar, and scrafice playing for their country in the World Cup? Should Fifa hold the world cup in a country when some of their players could be prosecuted because of their sexuality?
- jl6 4y ago
  FIFA was criticized for hosting the World Cup in a country that persecutes homosexuals. FIFA responded by extracting some concessionary-sounding statements from some Quatari officials. But the law hasn’t changed. Homosexuals who visit Qatar are most certainly still facing elevated risks. FIFA should be ashamed, but I suspect nobody has bribed them enough to activate their shame reflex yet.
- AnnikaL 4y ago
  Qatar also practices modern-day slavery. https://dohanews.co/report-qatar-fifth-highest-proportion-slavery-world/ https://dohanews.co/report-qatar-fifth-highest-proportion-sl... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar#Slavery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar#Slavery
  - techdragon 4y ago
    I know it was more to talk about the slavery and human rights half but it’s sort of fascinating to see flogging in the penalty list. Makes me wonder if that would be a more effective punitive deterrent against recidivism. While I know some people get off from it and it wouldn’t deter everyone, I have to wonder how much more viscerally unwilling to risk the punishment the average criminal would be if instead of 6 months or a year or two, you got 10 to 100 with the lash. Is it more humane to have the violence over quickly and let the rehabilitation begin nearly immediately? Or better they rot away in jail mentally and emotionally for months to years making more associations with other criminals the longer they are in jail?

yannis 4y ago

From my phone: I have Eteraz installed Read and Write to the file system - required to allow storage of a small encrypted file which holds a unique ID, QR code, infection status, configuration parameters, and proximity data of other devices using the Application. Not much more than a cookie.

h4x0rr 4y ago
You can't know what it is reading though. The app could theoretically be sending all your photos to the government. Would be interesting to see someone reverse engineering it.
orestarod 4y ago
Is there a reason this must be in the user's file location and not in the app's own internal files?