app permissions

[Android Question]

while intalling the 3d waterfall live wallpaper i came a accross a pop up that said the app needs access to storage modify/delete sd card contents. does this mean i'm going to lose everything i've saved on my sd card because that's how i understand it. help me!

 

[Lordvincent 90]

Hi and welcome to android forums.
This permission is simply to allow the app to save/delete files from your sdcard. It doesn't mean that it will delete your personal files. Just that it may need to save some data on the card to make the app work (wallpaper selections, settings, etc)

Here's some info on that specific permission

Modify/delete SD card contents
Your personal information
URI: android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Risk: MEDIUM
Protection level: DANGEROUS

Official Description
Allows an application to write to external storage

Details
This permission is of high importance. This will allow applications to read, write, and delete anything stored on your phone's SD card. This includes pictures, videos, mp3s, documents and even data written to your SD card by other applications. However, there are many legitimate uses for this permission. Many people want their applications to store data on the SD card, and any application that stores information on the SD card will need this permission. You will have to use your own judgment and be cautious with this permission knowing it is very powerful but very, very commonly used by legitimate applications. Applications that typically need this permission include (but are not limited to) camera applications, audio/video applications, document applications

WARNING:Any app targeting Android 1.5 or below (possibly 1.6 as well) will be granted this permission BY DEFAULT and you may not ever be warned about it. It is important to pay attention to what version of Android an app is targeting to know if this permission is being granted. You can see this on the Market website in the right hand column.

And this is a guide explaining each permission and the potential risks involved with an app that's uses them

http://androidforums.com/android-ap...explained-security-tips-avoiding-malware.html

Hope this helps