Comment by frizlab
6 hours ago
> it doesn't request location permissions anywhere, despite the claims in the article
The article does not claim the app requests the location. It claims it can do it with a single JS call.
6 hours ago
> it doesn't request location permissions anywhere, despite the claims in the article
The article does not claim the app requests the location. It claims it can do it with a single JS call.
It can request with a JS call. It can't passively collect it without you approving first. The article is written like calling that JS function will turn on location tracking without consent.
He explicitly says he can't determine it, but that the location tracking as configured will turn on once the user grants consent. All true statements.
How would you have written it differently
"If the user chooses to opt-in and grants location-tracking permission, the app is then, and only then, able to track the user's location?"
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> The article does not claim the app requests the location. It claims it can do it with a single JS call.
so can ... any other code anywhere on a mobile device? That is how API work...
You need to state the permissions you *may* request/use in AndroidManifest.xml. This data can then be displayed to users pre-installation.
From the (limited) article, it doesn't seem they do this: https://thereallo.dev/blog/decompiling-the-white-house-app#p...
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EDIT: I'm mistaken. From the Play Store[0] it has access to
* approximate location (network-based)
* precise location (GPS and network-based)
[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.whitehouse...
This seems to disagree with:
> The location permissions aren't declared in the AndroidManifest but requested at runtime
*shrug*, someone should dig deeper. It looks like the article may not match reality.
What version do you see? 47.0.1 doesn't have that for me: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557033
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