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IMO Apple should provide the user with audit logs of which photos/videos were accessed by each app. It might be a long list but it alleviates doubt and would pu
by nomilk 1y ago
IMO Apple should provide the user with audit logs of which photos/videos were accessed by each app. It might be a long list but it alleviates doubt and would put huge pressure on reputable developers to ensure they don’t get caught doing things the user wouldn’t have expected (even if the user technically allowed it).
- wslh 1y agoIn the iPhone you can select which photos are accessible by apps.
- merelysounds 1y agoEven better, the app can use the OS image picker and don’t have any other access to photos. It won’t work for all use cases, but when it works it’s very practical. I’d love to see apps use that as the default - and request additional access only when the user’s current action actually requires it.
- Ntrails 1y agoI locked whatsapp out of my photos and contacts years ago. If I need a pic I copy paste it in. Yes it is friction but I simply do not trust the Zuck
- noname120 1y agoIt’s a big pain because then you have a double-picker: first pick the pictures in the native dialog asking you to decide which pictures the app should have access to, and then select again the pictures you want but this time in the WhatsApp picker. It’s very awkward.
- trinix912 1y agoA solution would be that Apple builds a privacy preserving picker in the OS, then mandates apps use it instead of giving them access to the camera roll and letting them roll their own pickers in the first place.
- SSLy 1y ago> A solution would be that Apple builds a privacy preserving picker in the OS there is already one, the enforcement point is what's missing
- enigmo 1y agothis already exists, many apps use it. I do wish it was mandatory for _all_ apps to use it instead of being optional.
- MiddleEndian 1y agoiOS (and Android) could also replace the non-privacy-respecting one with a privacy-respecting one that just gives dummy responses to other API calls. Devices should be lying on my behalf to apps and services all the time.
- RajT88 1y agoModern Android has this too. I'm not sure what all distros it's in, since my Pixel 8 Pro doesn't have it, but LineageOS does and so does my cheap ass Motorola G 5G.
- h1fra 1y agoyeah they do that for location*, they should warn if an app is constantly accessing the camera roll
- merelysounds 1y agoFor what it’s worth, iOS does warn when an app has full access to the photo library for a while. E.g.: > "WhatsApp" has been able to access your entire photo library for 6 months. Do you want to continue to allow full access? Screenshots: https://macreports.com/app-has-been-able-to-access-your-entire-photo-library-popup-on-iphone/ https://macreports.com/app-has-been-able-to-access-your-enti...
- pimlottc 1y agoDo you mean prompting for permission to scan local networks? “Localization” normally refers to translating an app into another language.
- king_geedorah 1y agoI believe they are referring to the icon that appears in the status bar when an application is using location services (including in the background).
- h1fra 1y agoSorry I meant "location", when an app is accessing gps too often, they send a notification (e.g: I get a weekly notif for foursquare)
- AndroTux 1y agoI don’t understand why apps need access to my photos at all. (with some very specific exceptions,) apps should only access a photo, which I first select using the system photo picker. There’s no need for apps to access the entire camera roll just so I can select one photo to use with that app. I know that that’s partially implemented with the limited photo access now, but it’s confusing from a UI perspective and I don’t understand why this isn’t the default. The only apps that need full access to my camera roll, are apps like Google Photos, Nextcloud or Immich. Everyone else can suck a lemon.
- diggan 1y ago> I don’t understand why apps need access to my photos at all. [...] There’s no need for apps to access the entire camera roll So apps like Google Photos or other alternatives to the Apple made Photos app just shouldn't exist at all, if I understand you correctly?
- b112 1y agoDid the parent edit their comment? Because your response seems to directly ignore multiple things they said.
- diggan 1y agoRight now the comment says the same as when I wrote my comment: > I don’t understand why apps need access to my photos at all [...] There’s no need for apps to access the entire camera roll [...] The only apps that need full access to my camera roll, are apps like Google Photos, Nextcloud or Immich Which still make me ask the question: They think no apps should access all photos, there is never any need for that, and these app currently do that and they need that, so are they saying those apps shouldn't exist at all?
- hdgvhicv 1y agoThey literally say “The only apps that need full access to my camera roll, are apps like Google Photos” Obviously they don’t think the apps shouldn’t exist.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Jyaif 1y ago> would put huge pressure on reputable developers It wouldn't put any pressure on Meta
- Razengan 1y agoApple should also stop letting apps know that we have given them a limited photos or contacts list: Telegram refuses to work if you provide it with just 1 dummy contact. Some other clingy apps also get pouty and demand full roll access each time you try to use a photo. What's even worse: For years, Apple has also allowed many apps including Facebook/TikTok/Tinder to use the "iCloud Keychain" API to store invisible information that tracks you across app reinstalls and EVEN DEVICE RESETS, because it's stored in your iCloud account, and there's no way for you to see what is stored or manually delete it without going through FB/etc and no way to be sure that they are indeed deleting everything. I've ranted about that a few times but people just shrug it off like wtf (I imagine other people who abuse these APIs want to keep it buried)
- ctippett 1y agoHave you tried viewing your iCloud keychain on macOS? I'm not sure if it's inclusive of entries made from iPhone-only apps, but there's definitely an option to view entries synced to iCloud for other things.
- Razengan 1y agoI think I tried that a long time ago, including various tricks to see the hidden folders on the iPhone file system, but it didn't work. Now I'm not going to install any FB-related app on my new phone to test any other ways, because I'd rather not let them mark that device too if I can help it.
- giancarlostoro 1y agoNot just Apple, Google too. Companies having zero audit trails over files they send to their servers is why I wrote off Windows for good. I noticed Microsoft Defender may randomly send files to be inspected, but there's not audit trail of what files they've sent. This is also why on iOS I force every app to only take files I hand select, I assume malicious intent from all apps. I periodically remove files they're allowed to see back down to 0.
- isodev 1y agoAnd risk their revenue? No way. It will come as “privacy preserving on-device-blabla” something that ultimately wouldn’t really protect users, only move the problem elsewhere in the stack. Like any other “privacy” feature of iOS.
- kevin_thibedeau 1y agoThey shouldn't allow apps to give themselves permissions without an OS generated confirmation dialog. Google figured this out years ago
- jackdeansmith 1y agoThey can't. You have to explicitly give apps permission to access your photo library.
- JustExAWS 1y agoThat’s not even necessary. On your phone, go to Settingd -> Facebook -> photos -> limited access And you can choose which photos Facebook has access to. When you first give an app access to your photos, you have the “Limited Access” option.
- moolcool 1y agoI do that, but I wish I didn't have to. I have to flip through the system image picker twice every time I want to share a photo.
- JustExAWS 1y agoWhich app do you use doesn’t let you paste an image you copy from the Photos app? All the apps I tried - Facebook, Messenger, Slack, Notion, WhatsApp and LinkedIn. There is really no need to use the picker at all.
- jameshart 1y agoIf you only grant ‘Limited Access’ to an app to your photos you can review and modify at any time exactly which photos each app has access to.
- dataflow 1y agoI feel like what they would try to do in such a case is to make up some excuse to scan all the photos so you don't know what they're actually doing.
- siva7 1y agoOh I can't wait to get friend suggestions for random people from my camera roll and vice versa. Meta literally creating a social graph of all people you ever captured. Three letter agencies secretly leaching metas network cable for this extremely helpful information. At this point your camera roll can be public as well.
- artk42 1y agoaudit logs of all privacy and sensitive-related events should be required by regulations
- mbac32768 1y agoThis would be a great addition to GrapheneOS (hint hint)