The Lagoon TechMy little blog in Cyberspace.

This is just a quick blog post reminding Android smart phone users to be watchful of what permissions Android apps claim they require, before installing them from the Google Play store.

For example, if you are going to download a flashlight app, and it wants access to your Wi-Fi, location, and phone identity, I would be suspicious of that app and find another one that requires less permissions.

Of course, the flashlight app will require camera permissions, since it will be turning off and on the camera’s light, but it should not require access to your Wi-Fi (unless it has ads, which can potentially be a privacy issue in itself) or location.

Sometimes apps do require strange permissions because of some unique situation, but in my opinion most of the time these extra “needed” permissions are nothing more than the app’s author spying on you.

Just something to remember the next time you decide to download another app.