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CyanogenMod's Privacy Guard is useful for dealing with this situation. There is a setting to enable it by default on newly installed apps. No matter what perm

CyanogenMod's Privacy Guard is useful for dealing with this situation. There is a setting to enable it by default on newly installed apps. No matter what permissions the app says it requires, you are prompted when it actually requests them and can deny them at will or permanently.

scottjad 12y ago
When you deny them, roughly how often in your experience does this cause the app to crash or display an error?
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  I think it can return valid data, like empty sets or fake data. So apps shouldn't crash at all.
  - dspillett 12y ago
    Code that assumes it is going to get data instead of allowing for an empty response (in a circumstance where this is technically possible in reality but so rare the developer didn't thing to allow/test for it) could cause misfunction.
    - pwnna 12y ago
      That sounds like a bug in the application. While I'm not exactly certain on how Privacy Guard works (I have yet to examine that code base), if a phone returns [] for a list of contacts and the application crashes...
- hundchenkatze 12y ago
  In my experience, the apps I've used don't crash. The biggest problem I've seen is me getting frustrated with an app for not working as advertised. Then I remember that I've enabled privacy guard and the app must not be getting some info it needs from the OS.
- patcon 12y ago
  Doesn't crash, but sometimes apps seem to be created under the assumption their permission request isn't creating a popup, so there are sometimes like 10 in a row, so the user will often give up and just either blanket deny or accept EDIT:an "allow for 10 min" option would resolve this
  - mmebane 12y ago
    The lack of a "for 10 minutes"-type option is, IMO, the biggest failing of Privacy Guard. XPrivacy is better in that regard, but was harder to use overall when I last tried it. XPrivacy does have the benefit of making it easy to provide realistic-looking fake data, which I believe the CyanogenMod team is against.
- potato 12y ago
  Rarely, as it will feed empty data. It doesn't deny permissions.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- davorb 12y ago
  If you have a rooted device, try XPrivacy. That gives you a lot more options and you can even set what data you want the app to see. Want those apps that are asking for your location to think that you are on the North Pole? No problem.
scott_karana 12y ago
Wow, just like iOS.
therealmarv 12y ago
Why do I need a custom ROM for privacy? This is so wrong. Great that you can partially fix this but what about the millions of other users who also want to control their privacy without reflashing a complete ROM.
- rav 12y ago
  CyanogenMod comes preinstalled on OnePlus One, so for me it is no longer a "custom ROM". Even though it is not rooted by default, Privacy Guard has been working for me out of the box from day one.
  - sp332 12y ago
    OnePlus has announced that they are moving away from CM for future phones, so it will be a custom ROM for all new phones.

scottjad 12y ago

When you deny them, roughly how often in your experience does this cause the app to crash or display an error?

MichaelGG 12y ago
I think it can return valid data, like empty sets or fake data. So apps shouldn't crash at all.
- dspillett 12y ago
  Code that assumes it is going to get data instead of allowing for an empty response (in a circumstance where this is technically possible in reality but so rare the developer didn't thing to allow/test for it) could cause misfunction.
  - pwnna 12y ago
    That sounds like a bug in the application. While I'm not exactly certain on how Privacy Guard works (I have yet to examine that code base), if a phone returns [] for a list of contacts and the application crashes...
hundchenkatze 12y ago
In my experience, the apps I've used don't crash. The biggest problem I've seen is me getting frustrated with an app for not working as advertised. Then I remember that I've enabled privacy guard and the app must not be getting some info it needs from the OS.
patcon 12y ago
Doesn't crash, but sometimes apps seem to be created under the assumption their permission request isn't creating a popup, so there are sometimes like 10 in a row, so the user will often give up and just either blanket deny or accept EDIT:an "allow for 10 min" option would resolve this
- mmebane 12y ago
  The lack of a "for 10 minutes"-type option is, IMO, the biggest failing of Privacy Guard. XPrivacy is better in that regard, but was harder to use overall when I last tried it. XPrivacy does have the benefit of making it easy to provide realistic-looking fake data, which I believe the CyanogenMod team is against.
potato 12y ago
Rarely, as it will feed empty data. It doesn't deny permissions.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
davorb 12y ago
If you have a rooted device, try XPrivacy. That gives you a lot more options and you can even set what data you want the app to see. Want those apps that are asking for your location to think that you are on the North Pole? No problem.

scott_karana 12y ago

Wow, just like iOS.

therealmarv 12y ago

Why do I need a custom ROM for privacy? This is so wrong. Great that you can partially fix this but what about the millions of other users who also want to control their privacy without reflashing a complete ROM.

rav 12y ago
CyanogenMod comes preinstalled on OnePlus One, so for me it is no longer a "custom ROM". Even though it is not rooted by default, Privacy Guard has been working for me out of the box from day one.
- sp332 12y ago
  OnePlus has announced that they are moving away from CM for future phones, so it will be a custom ROM for all new phones.