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The first chink in Android's armor

T

Tarzanman

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 16, 2010
1,304
15
One thing that could stop android's growth dead in its tracks is people starting to think that Google is spying on them *without telling them*.

I expect this issue to become a significant one as more people discover what their smartphones are broadcasting to the cloud.

"After developing and using TaintDroid, several universities found that of 30 popular free Android apps, half were sharing GPS data and phone numbers with advertisers and remote servers. A few months ago, one app was sending phone numbers to a remote server in China but today the situation looks a lot more pervasive. In their paper, the researchers blasted Google saying 'Android's coarse grained access control provides insufficient protection against third-party applications seeking to collect sensitive data.'
 
I'm not sure it'll stop anything but it will make the safety/freedom divide between Android and iOS much clearer. I think things like this will help people understand that each direction is neither good nor bad but, rather, they're simply different with their own unique pros and cons.

For awhile people were acting like "freedom" was "good" and "Jobs controlls you" was "bad."

The truth is, each have strengths and you have to pick based on which strengths are more important to you.

Stories like this help make that point more obvious.
 
Tarzanman said:
One thing that could stop android's growth dead in its tracks is people starting to think that Google is spying on them *without telling them*.

I expect this issue to become a significant one as more people discover what their smartphones are broadcasting to the cloud.

"After developing and using TaintDroid, several universities found that of 30 popular free Android apps, half were sharing GPS data and phone numbers with advertisers and remote servers. A few months ago, one app was sending phone numbers to a remote server in China but today the situation looks a lot more pervasive. In their paper, the researchers blasted Google saying 'Android's coarse grained access control provides insufficient protection against third-party applications seeking to collect sensitive data.'
Click to expand...

Just throwing it out there because semantically, your post is incorrect.

GOOGLE isn't spying - the apps and developers are spying. Google is just enabling the possibility. There's a difference. And Apple has had it's issues with some apps doing something similar.

It's not the first chink. It won't be the last. Just like Apple has it's fair share of problems.

People will choose the product and services that they want regardless.

And both Android users and iOS users will continue to debate/criticize the other for it's weaknesses.
 
Uhh...don't you mean "kink"? Chink is quite something else...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chink

Chink or sometimes Chinki is a racial slur referring originally to a person of Chinese ethnicity but now generalized to refer to any person of East Asian descent. Contemporary usage of the word as an ethnic slur has sparked controversies in public and popular media.
 
if you think that iOS developers arent doing the same thing, you are being pretty naive. the approval process for the app store is just a false sense of security, at least on android you are warned up front about what permissions the app has. on iOS you have no warning at all.

just take a look at Handy Light. its impossible for both apple and google to fully protect the user at this point.
 
lol wow, and iOS devices are secure? think again.

there was a recent survey done showing iOS devices as the LEAST secure operating system, and shown on every tech news blog. this isn't an android only issue.

additionally, because Android OS is so open, and virtually anybody can submit an application with approval, there will be nefarious applications that use your data, but this is only AFTER installing said application.

every time you are about to install an app, GOOGLE lets you know what part of the OS said application will be privy to.

This is just another alarmist article to drum up page views. move along fellas.
 
Total BS

On Android when you are installing a new application, the installer explicitly asks you about the permissions needed for this application. If you see that , say, a calculator application asks a permission to get data on your location, it's a red flag. Once installed, the application can not get the data for which it does not have a permission (Android takes care of this). iPhone completely lacks any permission system. The user has absolutely no control over what data gets accessed by any given application. It is very surprising that people can not understand how much Android is better in this regard. Remember how a few weeks ago someone submitted a flashlight application to App Store that was secretly able to perform the tethering? Unlike on Android, neither Apple nor iPhone users have any good means for detecting such rogue applications.
 
When I read about the report this morning, my first thought was that it would be quite a problem for Android.
 
HXGuy said:
Uhh...don't you mean "kink"? Chink is quite something else...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chink

Chink or sometimes Chinki is a racial slur referring originally to a person of Chinese ethnicity but now generalized to refer to any person of East Asian descent. Contemporary usage of the word as an ethnic slur has sparked controversies in public and popular media.
Click to expand...

x2

umm, ya...its Kink.....not Chink....you racists!!
 
The issue has been white-washed.

It's a black eye for Google and the Android platform.

Google should be red in the face.

It starts as a chink in the armor,
which will eventually cause Google to leave brown stains.

I think I have everyone covered.
 
samcraig said:
Just throwing it out there because semantically, your post is incorrect.

GOOGLE isn't spying - the apps and developers are spying. Google is just enabling the possibility. There's a difference. And Apple has had it's issues with some apps doing something similar.

It's not the first chink. It won't be the last. Just like Apple has it's fair share of problems.

People will choose the product and services that they want regardless.

And both Android users and iOS users will continue to debate/criticize the other for it's weaknesses.
Click to expand...

you are right. However Apple actively tries to reduce this issue and corrects holes and mistakes as much as possible with the IOS platform. Google cares less about public opinion about lack of security; to them ALL information, even private information, wants to be free.

Google = brainiac. ;)
 
hyteckit said:
The issue has been white-washed.

It's a black eye for Google and the Android platform.

Google should be red in the face.

It starts as a chink in the armor,
which will eventually cause Google to leave brown stains.

I think I have everyone covered.
Click to expand...

Jesus! That wasn't kosher at all.
 
Apple sells devices to its customers (the users).

Google sells users to its customers (the advertisers).

But I am not at all certain that that users are smart enough to pick up on this.

chink1
n
1. a small narrow opening, such as a fissure or crack
chink in one's armour a small but fatal weakness

C.
 
Carniphage said:
Apple sells devices to its customers (the users).

Google sells users to its customers (the advertisers).

But I am not at all certain that that users are smart enough to pick up on this.
Click to expand...

More accurately:

Apple sells devices to its customers (Carriers).

Most people aren't buying directly from Apple. Apple is getting a cut of those contracts.
 
Daveoc64 said:
More accurately:

Apple sells devices to its customers (Carriers).

Most people aren't buying directly from Apple. Apple is getting a cut of those contracts.
Click to expand...

And now that Apple has iAds - it would be foolish to say that google sells customers to its advertisers and not say the same about Apple.

But nice try at being clever (not the poster quoted above - but Carniphage)
 
Daveoc64 said:
More accurately:

Apple sells devices to its customers (Carriers).

Most people aren't buying directly from Apple. Apple is getting a cut of those contracts.
Click to expand...

Not a very accurate portrait.

Apple have done more than any other cellphone vendor to cut the carriers out of the loop. Carriers don't get to brand the phone, don't get to install their software, and don't take part in software updates. Apple maintains a close direct relationship to each iPhone customer. The carriers are a merely an embarrassing necessity.

Apple have done as much as possible to ensure that its real customers are the end-users. That's smart because it is end-users that select and pay for the devices. And that strategy has been rewarded by remarkable levels customer loyalty. With customers happy to switch carriers to get to their selected device.

Yes, some other vendors have compromised their devices to stay sweet with the carriers. But surely, that's a pretty clear signal of defeat.

C.
 
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