Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Android Permissions

Every once in a while I'll receive an email from an Android user asking why my app is requesting certain permissions. The short answer is, "I don't know why." If it's not clear enough, I am in law enforcement. If it is a federal offense for me to secretly monitor phone calls or listen in on your conversations, why would you think I care what you have to say? Paranoid? In an effort to satisfy the Android community, here is a list of permissions and why I suspect they are being requested:

INTERNET - Allows the app to create network sockets and send/receive data to/from the Internet.
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION - Allows the app to access approximate location from location providers using network sources such as cell tower and Wi-Fi. This is required for EvidenceCam and
GPS Coordinates to function.
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION - Allows the app to access precise location sources such as Global Positioning System on the device. This is required for
EvidenceCam and GPS Coordinates to function.
WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE - Allows the app to write to the USB storage and/or to the SD card.
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE - Allows the app to view information about the network connections such as which networks exist and are connected. This information is also used in analytics and statistics.
READ_PHONE_STATE - Allows the app to access the phone features of the device. An app with this permission can determine the phone number and serial number of the phone, whether a call is active, the number that call is connected to and the like.
RECORD_AUDIO - Allows the Audio Recorder feature to function using the device's microphone.
CAMERA - Allows
EvidenceCam to function using the device's camera.
CHECK_LICENSE - My app has licensing enabled to prevent users from sharing it for free.
C2D_MESSAGE - Enables users to receive my Push Notifications
RECEIVE - Enables users to receive my Push Notifications
WAKE_LOCK - I have no clue.
READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE - Allows the app to read to the USB storage and/or to the SD card.

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