More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions

guest · Jul 8, 2019

More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions
The apps gather information such as location, even after owners explicitly say no. Google says a fix won’t come until Android Q
July 8, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/more-than...st-your-data-even-after-you-deny-permissions/

Permissions on Android apps are intended to be gatekeepers for how much data your device gives up.
But even when you say no, many apps find a way around: Researchers discovered more than 1,000 apps that skirted restrictions, allowing them to gather precise geolocation data and phone identifiers behind your back.

Serge Egelman, director of usable security and privacy research at the ICSI, presented the study in late June at the Federal Trade Commission's PrivacyCon.

"Fundamentally, consumers have very few tools and cues that they can use to reasonably control their privacy and make decisions about it," Egelman said at the conference. "If app developers can just circumvent the system, then asking consumers for permission is relatively meaningless."
Other apps were gathering location data by connecting to your Wi-Fi network and figuring out the router's MAC address. They found this on apps that functioned as smart remote controls, which didn't need your location information to function.
Click to expand...

Egelman said he will be releasing details with a list of the 1,325 apps the researchers discovered when he presents the study at the Usenix Security conference in August.
Click to expand...

50 Ways to Leak Your Data: An Exploration of Apps’ Circumvention of the Android Permissions System
(PDF - 277 KB): https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_events/1415032/privacycon2019_serge_egelman.pdf

Rasheed187 · Jul 13, 2019

That's why I keep saying there is no security on smartphones. Android sucks!

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More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions

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