[sorinv]

I have no android apps, yet the android runtime uploads data even when I am not using my Passport. How secure are my data on bb10 since the 10.2.1 OS update when ART was added?

[Cobalt232]

How to you know that you don't have any Android apps installed on your device? Blackberry World is full of Android apps (converted to BAR). Maybe you should post an overview of your installed apps.

[sorinv]

How to you know that you don't have any Android apps installed on your device? Blackberry World is full of Android apps (converted to BAR). Maybe you should post an overview of your installed apps.

Sure, some are android ports, but ART was/is uploading even when I wasn't using the phone.
I know for sure that Kobo, 7digital and ghostcommander are android ports. In fact I have asked many times during the last three years in this forum if we should trust ghostcommander, but nobody has volunteered to answer that question. Why does data transfer in ghostcommander over the Internet take more than 2x the time of sftp on the same network?

Either way, ART should not be uploading any data when I am not using ANY app other than the hub which runs all the time.

[Zedd88]

Some Android apps run in the background even when you "close" them. For example, Amazon Appstore is always running in the background. And it will in fact notify you when there are updates to the "Android" apps you installed through Amazon App Store even when Amazon App store is closed.

There are many Android Apps that do run in the background and do use the Internet but not necessarily malicious . Another sample is messaging apps. Like Viber, even if Viber is closed you still receive notification of new massages. This means that Viber is actually running in the background.

So this is not entirely ART's fault.

[sorinv]

I don't have Amazon store active for that very reason. When it was first updated I denied it any access, so it does not run.
I don't have any android apps, other that the three android ports from BBW that I mentioned earlier.
No amazon store, nothing sideloaded, nothing.
There is no android app running in the background on my phone. I delete even the BBW apps which do not give me full control over their permissions, even if I paid for them.
A few dollars for an app is not an issue. Privacy and security of my data are.

[Emaderton3]

You may just want to double check by looking at each app in Ghost Commander and see if anything needs to be force closed. There are items in there that are BlackBerry but come up.

Posted via CB10

[conite]

I know Amazon and Kobo have notification systems, and poll periodically. I think 7digital does the same.

One thing is certain - the Runtime does nothing by itself.

[sorinv]

Yes, Kobo does for sure and likely also 7digital. These, and ghostcommander, are the only apps I have whose permissions I cannot control. Kobo and 7digital came preinstalled with the OS in February 2013.
Ghost commander also does things in the background.
But the numbers do not add up...

Attachment 388499
Attachment 388500
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Attachment 388504

[anon(9607753)]

Interesting. Did you do the same test prior to the Amazon Appstore BB10 update?

Posted via CB10

[thurask]

Well, actually, BB10 has had the Android runtime since PlayBook OS 2.0; 10.2.1 added direct APK installs, though.

[BerrySoul]

Close those apps under "cpu" in the device manager in settings. Also under the settings, "app permissions" turn off "run when minimized" slide button.

  

[sorinv]

You cannot control app permissions on 7 digital.
Here it is again today...even though I have not listened to music in the past 3 days...
And I had already turned off running in the background for both Kobo and 7digital...
The rest of the app permissions cannot be turned off by the user.

[rthonpm]

It's the app polling for new information. It's kind of how they work. You're looking at tiny amounts of data that are likely a heartbeat or update check. If you were looking at megabytes of information or more there may be cause for concern, but the amounts in this instance are trivial.

Posted via CB10

[sorinv]

It's the app polling for new information. It's kind of how they work. You're looking at tiny amounts of data that are likely a heartbeat or update check. If you were looking at megabytes of information or more there may be cause for concern, but the amounts in this instance are trivial.

Posted via CB10

Sure, but there are other apps, not just Kobo and 7digital that are uploading info with android runtime. The sum due to Kobo and 7digital is only a fraction of the data uploaded by the android runtime.
It does not take a lot of data to upload confidential info.

[conite]

Sure, but there are other apps, not just Kobo and 7digital that are uploading info with android runtime. The sum due to Kobo and 7digital is only a fraction of the data uploaded by the android runtime.
It does not take a lot of data to upload confidential info.

The Android Runtime does not properly allocate the data transfer to the app in question when it comes to displaying the analytics.

I can assure you that if you had no Android apps installed, there would be no activity from the Runtime.

[sorinv]

Technically I don't have android apps. All my apps are from BBW, but it is obvious that Kobo, 7digital and ghost commander are android ports, or else I should be able to control their permissions.
And maybe amazon store runs even if I did not give it any permissions.
I only disabled it through parental controls.

[conite]

Technically I don't have android apps. All my apps are from BBW, but it is obvious that Kobo, 7digital and ghost commander are android ports, or else I should be able to control their permissions.
And maybe amazon store runs even if I did not give it any permissions.
I only disabled it through parental controls.

So technically, you DO have Android apps.

[sorinv]

So technically, you DO have Android apps.

Yep. There is no escape from Google's clutches. Even Apple sold out to them...
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35380696

[jdcfinisher]

Runtime is just a program, it's suppose to stay in touch and check for updates, and give updates on how's it's working ,same as BB10 does. The fact that you don't have any android apps doesn't make a difference, it's just going though it's programmed routine of checking. Think of it as having Bluetooth permanently turned on and you don't have any Bluetooth devices. It's running and checking for devices put not actually doing anything.


Posted via CB10

[conite]

Runtime is just a program, it's suppose to stay in touch and check for updates, and give updates on how's it's working ,same as BB10 does. The fact that you don't have any android apps doesn't make a difference, it's just going though it's programmed routine of checking. Think of it as having Bluetooth permanently turned on and you don't have any Bluetooth devices. It's running and checking for devices put not actually doing anything.


Posted via CB10

Actually, the Runtime remains dormant without being invoked by an Android app.

[anon(9607753)]

Well, actually, BB10 has had the Android sruntime since PlayBook OS 2.0; 10.2.1 added direct APK installs, though.

Kind of my point really...the OP was referring specifically to 10.2.1 so I was wondering if a similar 'data breach' (multiple KB in size?) had ever been detected prior to that update.

Posted via CB10

[rthonpm]

Kind of my point really...the OP was referring specifically to 10.2.1 so I was wondering if a similar 'data breach' (multiple KB in size?) had ever been detected prior to that update.

Posted via CB10

That's a little bit of a loaded term... Let's keep some semblance of intellectual honesty.

Posted via CB10

[sorinv]

Kind of my point really...the OP was referring specifically to 10.2.1 so I was wondering if a similar 'data breach' (multiple KB in size?) had ever been detected prior to that update.

Posted via CB10

I don't know because at that time android runtime was not visible to the user if it was on the phone. Or at least I was not aware of it.
All I remember was that it showed up with the Amazon store and that's when datamining started to happen on my z30 and later Passport. Because, whether uploading happens for justified reasons or otherwise, I should be able to deny BlackBerry, android runtime, Google, Kobo, 7digital, a.s.o. access to anything on my device when I feel like it, and especially when I do not use a specific app.
I don't need to have other people tell me how much time I jog, or how much time I spend on my devices, what I read, what music I listen to, what I watch and who I talk to, and other such trivial things that I can do for myself.

[byex]

We're talking about data in the KB's. Insignificant. I checked mine and since Dec 27 uploaded 82KB. Barely a meg. I have a few android apps but barely ever use them.


Posted via CB10

[sorinv]

We're talking about data in the KB's. Insignificant. I checked mine and since Dec 27 uploaded 82KB. Barely a meg. I have a few android apps but barely ever use them.


Posted via CB10

It doesn't take more than kbytes to upload position, passwords, login, wi-fi network lists, contacts, phone call lists, and text.