Noob being over anxious...

[Maxib]

Hi all,

just got my first android (nexus s) and downloaded the doubletwist app. I was a bit concerned about the amount of sensitive data it seemed to be wanting, but went ahead for the ease of sync. It seemed to be highly regarded everywhere I read.

But now I'm starting to get a little anxious about it. I tried emailing question on their website, got a VERY techhie reply which I didnt really understand and no further help.

I know I'm probably being a bit paranoid, but after reading the great post on the FAQ section on this, I'm left wondering why exactly a music app needs to have access to my emails, phone numbers, ability to call who I have called, sensitive log data etc?

Could anyone please ease my mind?! Thanks for any help!!

 

[sitlet]

Considering a lot of people on here use that app, I'm SURE the app dev's arent stealing your emails or phone numbers.

 

[Maxib]

Yeah thanks. I know loads of people use it, its got a nice website etc, but still wondering why they would need this info for a music playback app? If I understand the reasons, I'd be happier downloading other ones with the same permissions.

 

[Stupifier]

Maybe there is a good explanation in the reply you got from the developer. Please post their response here and someone can explain it to you.

Here are the permissions DoubleTwists says it needs. I added a little note below each one to give an explanation why a music app might need such permission.

Network communication
full Internet access, view Wi-Fi state, view network state
explanation-needs overall network access in order to use Radio and wireless sync stuff.

Your accounts
discover known accounts, use the authentication credentials of an account
explanation-maybe something to do with your account linked to your music.

Storage
modify/delete SD card contents
explanation-In case you want to delete a song you have in the app...it needs permission to do so.

Phone calls
read phone state and identity
explanation-many music apps auto-pause when you receive a call. DoubleTwist needs permission to see if someone is calling you.

System tools
modify global system settings, display system-level alerts, prevent phone from sleeping, mount and unmount filesystems, read system log files, automatically start at boot, disable keylock
explanataion-volume type settings, being able to read files, etc.

The permissions look like a lot of stuff....but in reality....the more complex these apps become...the more permissions they are gonna need. You have to really think it through.

 

[Maxib]

Thanks, Stupifier! I did warn I was new to all this stuff and not particularly tech savvy but that already makes a lot more sense to me now - cheers! This is what the guy replied:

"You'll find more detailed descriptions of the various permissions on Google's new Android Market website (click on Permissions): http://market.android.com/details?id=...

Log data: Android swallows certain exceptions (bad Google!) and writes an entry to the log. Reading the log is the only way for us to determine if the exception occurred.

Credentials: Google's longer description for this is "Allows an application to request authentication tokens." Note the 'request' part. It's only a permission to request credentials at a later stage (Android will prompt you to grant specific access later).

Note that Android will only auto-update an app if the permissions haven't changed. This leads developers to request permissions today they may want to use in the future (since adding them at a later stage would disable auto-update for that update)."


Don't have a clue about any of that...

 

[Rootmepls]

About the same permissions that Audiogalaxy asks for. If you have tons of music on your system its worth looking at. I store maybe 2 albums max on my device and stream or use cloud storage for the rest.