[Hass Jahrami]

How safe are blackberry applications permissions, should I be worried?

1- Internet : allow the app to send and receive data. this could potentially be used to send your personal data to other services


2- Shared files: allow this app to access pictures, music, documents and other files stored on your device at a remote storage provider on a media card or in the cloud

3- GPS location: allow this app to access your gps locations


4- Device identifying information: allows this app to access device identifiers such as serial number and pin

#BB10

[squished18]

Your question could probably use some clarification. What application are you concerned about in particular?

Posted via CB10

[Hass Jahrami]

Your question could probably use some clarification. What application are you concerned about in particular?

Posted via CB10

any application in general, for example i downloaded a game app and it asked me for the information as mentioned ABOVE which makes no sense to me why would i game need a gps location etc, im just wondering in general is it SAFE for me to approve those permission or could it harm me in the long run

[sedalia066]

May or may not be harmful overall. For my family the rule is to allow only those permissions which are deemed necessary either for proper operation of the App or for our specific Use. That means we often forego apps with invasive permission requests.

Posted via CB10

[dbmalloy]

You have to option of saying "no" in the installation... as mentioned before... if you are using an app where location is critical...ie maps makes sense... if it is a game... not so much.... just common sense....

[Vorkosigan]

I think the gps for games is to allow targeted ads.

The Internet is to send and receive data - so for example if the game uses scoreloop it will send your score to that If you've signed up for it

Internet also again for the ads.

The device identifying information I have no idea. I don't usually great that permission because I don't know what it's for. Anything that won't run without it I just delete.

Maybe some devs could chime in and explain a bit better?

Posted via CB10

[EnchantedBB]

I think the gps for games is to allow targeted ads.

The Internet is to send and receive data - so for example if the game uses scoreloop it will send your score to that If you've signed up for it

Internet also again for the ads.

The device identifying information I have no idea. I don't usually great that permission because I don't know what it's for. Anything that won't run without it I just delete.

Maybe some devs could chime in and explain a bit better?

Posted via CB10

If it is a free game then the developer gets paid via ad impressions. Knowing your approximate location helps push more relevant ad impressions to the device which increases click through rate.

I don't see any reason why the game app would need your device id info; stats collection maybe?. Just turn that off. If the app does not run without this permission then either delete it or go to settings to turn it on if you're comfortable with it.

[SEAWARRIOR]

when in doubt, opt out...

[marmad74]

Almost every android app or game wants access if you do not agree it won't let play or use. I always delete them immediately.

Posted via BB Z10

[Xopher]

If it is an ad supported free app/game, the ad service uses those for the ad service. Internet for the communication, location to base relevant ads, and identifying information so that the ad service knows it is coming from a BlackBerry (nothing about the person using the BlackBerry). The ad service requires some of these permissions when added to the app and is out of the developer's control.

I don't think shared data is part of the ad service, so it would be dependent on what the app does. A photo editing app would need data access, or an app that takes and saves notes, scores, and so on.

As long as it is a native app, you can go into settings and adjust permissions. Disabling some permissions might stop an app from behaving properly, but you do have control over permissions. Android apps usually don't have that level of permission control.

Posted via CB10

[afinebalance]

As the above post notes, Android apps need to ask for permission on everything and the optics just look bad, leading to people freaking out in the reviews section accusing the developers of harvesting information or whatever. It's not really clear why or if there's any way around it, BlackBerry could do a better job explaining it.

Posted via CB10

[Bonnie Bonzai]

any application in general, for example i downloaded a game app and it asked me for the information as mentioned ABOVE which makes no sense to me why would i game need a gps location etc, im just wondering in general is it SAFE for me to approve those permission or could it harm me in the long run

I've seen this too and when an app wants access to my phone for personal stuff and access to wifi /internet I just dump the whole app - i find this happens more on the free apps than paid for ones. (not to say sometimes even the paid apps want a whole lot of access too)