Comment by TheCraiggers
11 years ago
Three points:
1) Newer custom ROMs can deny permissions on a per-app basis. I understand this isn't for everyone, but I enjoy having this option very much on my own device. (I also agree with you that it should be baked into the vanilla Android, but I can understand why they wouldn't want to confuse users with that option.)
2) Some apps will give you a choice in their own settings (if you trust that).
3) You always have the option of just not installing an app if you don't like the permissions. There's a fair bit of apps I refuse to install/update because their permissions asking for way more than I think their feature set requires.
> I also agree with you that it should be baked into the vanilla Android
They appear to be working on that: http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/07/25/app-ops-android-4-3s...
I used it to block Facebook from accessing GPS. Worked well.
> Some apps will give you a choice in their own settings (if you trust that)
I noticed recently that Google gives you the option of disabling "Google Location Services" which allows apps to read location when they're not running. However, disabling this causes Google Maps to refuse to read your location when it is running.
...And that's about when I started looking seriously at OpenStreetMaps. Sadly haven't found a good replacement yet.
As a practice, I turn off all location services on my phone and only briefly turn it on when I need to use Maps. May seem paranoid, but don't find myself suffering too much by this change.
I've been running CM since the Nexus One. I don't think it supports per-app system privileges. Unless it is hidden somewhere deep within (though I could swear I've recursively been through their entire settings tree).
May I ask which ROMs you are referring to?
I myself use AOKP, although I believe the permission management feature was cherry-picked from Cyanogen, and Google searches seem to verify the functionality exists.
On AOKP, you have to enable it by going into System Settings -> Permissions, which will then let you manage your apps.
Cyanogen uses a similar system[1], you'll need to navigate to CyanogenMod Settings, then Permissions, and finally Enable Management. After that, permissions can be enabled or disabled through the Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications menu.
[1]Those instructions were pulled from a Google search, as I don't run Cyanogen myself currently. They may be old/incorrect/etc. Good luck.
CM 10.2 introduced something called Privacy Guard. https://plus.google.com/+CyanogenMod/posts/gk7X3HjNvnH
Cyanogenmod used to provide this in the Gingerbread days, but they removed it somewhere around ICS/JB.
It was rumored that this was under pressure from Google, etc., but I'm not sure if that was ever confirmed.