Android applications

[mtbc]

I tend not to install many apps on my cellphone because they seem to easily run out of space even with using an SD card to extend internal storage. Perhaps this most occurs after the cellphone is already storing a major operating system update and the vendor expects one to change the unit every year or two anyway like a good consumer. Still, I thought to mention some of the Android apps that I do use:

• James Moss' DigiHUD Speedometer helps to determine how a vehicle's speedometer reading relates to its speed of travel. Modern cars typically overread by 5% to 10% in my experience though my police car was an exception.


• Google's Hangouts Dialer allows me to telephone the US for free from anywhere I have a wifi signal.


• Google's Maps is great for navigation by foot or by car, including rerouting around bad traffic ahead and calling up satellite photographs of one's environs.


• Mark Harman's Open Camera is an easy and effective camera app that does not require absurd permissions like being able to make a call. I avoided alternatives that may be better for those who know much about photography.


• Nokia's Z Launcher does not force a search bar on to the home screen.

Comments

[goldibehr]

It bugs me that there seems to be no downside for Google, or for the developers of apps, who steal as much data as they can get access to.

For that reason, I have installed only two apps on my Android phone:

- a password manager named 'keepassdroid', which I compiled myself after reviewing the java source code.

- a simple 'expenses' app that I wrote myself, to keep track of where I spend cash

[goldibehr]

And then there's this headline I saw a moment ago:

Facebook Scraped Call, Text Message Data For Years From Android Phones

[goldibehr]

That headline is a lie: the users had to grant facebook access to their "contacts", which also allowed access to phone call logs and text message logs.

So not "scaped", merely uploaded after user permitted them to do it.

[mtbc]

Interesting: I suspect that users didn't realize what Contacts means given the access to history. Perhaps the permissions model is far too coarse-grained, though of course it's also less work to code apps that can't cope with not having access to all that they'd like.

[goldibehr]

In my opinion, the permissions coarseness and inability to revoke permissions is completely intentional on google's part (it's not like they are unaware of what *could* be done):

- they want to obtain the social graph info for themselves

- they want companies to build android apps, and this personal data is the "payment" for that investment. So, just like with facebook, the end-user is not who google is trying to please/protect.

[emperor]

One of the reasons I've not yet tried an Android device without the google spy-ware is the maps application, which does seem pretty good.

[it and the Met Office app are among the few I've not installed from f-droid rather than the play store]