About apps’ permission requirements…
Everyone must know by now that there are major issues with ALL apps…. in that the *descriptions* of app permissions very often don’t match the actual reason why they are needed. This is plaguing the entire smartphone world. I think that very soon Google (Android) and Apple (iPhone) will fix this problem. I hope so.
All they need to do is…. Give all app developers a new field to fill in for the app store, called, “Why we need this permission“.
In the meantime, we must either do a google search to find out why, or ask the developers themselves why. Most app publishers already have a web page or a blog entry specifically to answer that question: “Why does your app need these permissions?” But the app stores could easily provide this information directly from the devs to the users… on a permission by permission basis… at the point of asking for the permissions. As in…
Access Camera Roll ( why does the app need this ? ) <—-click here
Please Google and Apple…. fix this.
And Another Thing About Permissions That Needs Fixed
Every permission being asked for should clearly specify in a table… whether this info/data will be used only locally within the app…. or if the data will every potentially can be sent out of the device unencrypted…. or both. As in this example….
used locally within app can be sent out of device unencrypted
Identity Yes Yes
Camera Roll Yes No