Pandora update

[ToastPwnz]

Anyone else find it a little fishy? The permissions regarding personal data don't sit right with me, so I ended up installing it for now. Good time to try the Last.FM app.
I hope I'm not the only one that thinks a radio application shouldn't need access to
"Add or modify calendar events and send email to guests, read contact data". >.>

 

[Flmgo]

I noticed the same thiing and felt just like you so I uninstalled it.

 

[lunameow]

According to Pandora's website, it accesses your contact info only if you choose to share your stations with friends, and the GPS info is to target the ads. I would guess that the access to the calendar is to add notifications of upcoming music events that they participate in/sponsor. Not really anything fishy about it, since you don't have to use the functions that access the data. I find it more annoying that it doesn't give you an option to disable loading album art, especially since the widget for it doesn't work if you have the app on an SD card. :/

 

[messenger13]

Yea ... like no other apps are "looking at your data".

 

[HoochieCoo]

I could care less. Pandora is one of my favorites. It's not as if I am someone who actually has a contact list or calendar someone would have the least interest in. I kind of assume many apps (or people) could access my data, and act accordingly. Besides, as noted, it's to support features of the app.

 

[larrycl]

Pandora was specifically called out in this article
IPhone and Android Apps Breach Privacy - WSJ.com

 

[ToastPwnz]

According to Pandora's website, it accesses your contact info only if you choose to share your stations with friends, and the GPS info is to target the ads. I would guess that the access to the calendar is to add notifications of upcoming music events that they participate in/sponsor. Not really anything fishy about it, since you don't have to use the functions that access the data. I find it more annoying that it doesn't give you an option to disable loading album art, especially since the widget for it doesn't work if you have the app on an SD card. :/

They should put that on the app description, instead of the website. Most people who see that won't take time to check the website for an explanation unless they were 99-100% sure it would be there.
I still don't really see a reason to reinstall it for the moment, since I broke pretty much every pair of headphones I have, having it on my phone is kind of useless. >.>

 

[lunameow]

Pandora was specifically called out in this article
IPhone and Android Apps Breach Privacy - WSJ.com

Ad-supported apps are sending non-personal information to advertising companies? I'm shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you.

Next thing, you'll be telling me that various websites and ad-supported software programs are displaying ads targeted at my demographic and geographic location.

Man, you'd really think these companies would mention their privacy policy when you sign up for an account...

 

[ToastPwnz]

Ad-supported apps are sending non-personal information to advertising companies? I'm shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you.

Next thing, you'll be telling me that various websites and ad-supported software programs are displaying ads targeted at my demographic and geographic location.

Man, you'd really think these companies would mention their privacy policy when you sign up for an account...

Bah, I can understand that, and it doesn't bug me in the slightest.
I don't think it mentions anywhere in their privacy policy about their app having access to your contact info though. >.>

 

[lunameow]

This privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") is effective as of August 3, 2010, for Pandora Media, Inc. ("Pandora", "we", "us" or "our"). It applies to the United States operations for the Internet radio services that we offer through our web site located at Pandora Radio - Listen to Free Internet Radio, Find New Music, supported mobile devices, consumer electronics devices and other mechanisms (collectively, the "Pandora Services").

That covers the mobile devices. And admittedly, it doesn't specifically mention collecting contact info you have stored, it does imply it by mentioning that they collect your data from other users. (I think the wording has to do with the privacy policy as it relates specifically to your own contact info.)

Why yes, I am a nerd who reads privacy policies. I learned to start doing that when I signed up for a couple of shady websites and ended up with, no exaggeration, 4,000+ spam emails per day. Fortunately, they were all for dummy email accounts on my domain, so it was easy enough to block them.

I see your point of view, and if it weren't a well-known, trusted company, I'd probably think twice about it myself, privacy policy or no.

Now if only they'd fix that widget issue...

 

[ToastPwnz]

What did they screw up with the widget? I haven't reinstalled it since I rarely, if ever used it.

 

[lunameow]

If you have it installed on the SD card instead of the phone, the widget doesn't work. At first it kept the widget on and just stopped showing the information, but after the last update, it doesn't show the widget at all.

 

[ToastPwnz]

Sounds like something they should probably fix pretty quickly. Don't really see the point of A2SD if half the apps don't work properly with it.