Facebook Messenger!!!. Did I get your attention? Good, it seems to be a hot topic with all the noobs on the interwebs. Remember when the internet was nothing but nerds and tech gurus? Oh you dont because youre a noob who doesnt understand the internets. androidcentral/facebook-messenger-permissions-not-scary-stories-might-have-you-believe Lets look at Facebook messengers permissions As we said, youre kind of left to your own devices to decide whether the permissions an app is declaring are scary, or necessary. (Though wed argue that a company like Facebook probably couldnt get away with sneaking something through for very long, but thats not really the point of this exercise.) So, lets go through them, one by one, as theyre currently listed. (Note that the order is different than what youll find in that original December 2013 HuffPo FUD piece, and the subsequent reblogs.) Facebook Messenger permissions — calls Phone calls Directly call phone numbers. This ones followed by a yellow This may cost you money warning, and a little image of coins, again indicating that it could, potentially, cost you money. Read phone status and identity. Why these permissions: Because Facebook messenger can call people. Or, rather, it can initiate a call. If someone has given Facebook their phone number, youll be able to call them through this app. At the same time, the app has the ability to see what your phone number is. Facebook Messenger Permissions — Texting Texting Edit your text messages (SMS or MMS) Read your text messages (SMS or MMS) Receive text messages (MMS) Receive text messages (SMS) Send SMS messages (This may cost you money) Why these permissions: Facebook Messenger uses an SMS to confirm your phone number when you decide to give it to Facebook. Note how that works in conjunction with the read phone identity permission above. Facebook Messenger also allows you to send a text message or MMS to someone who isnt yet on Messenger. (You have to give it access to your contacts, though, for that to work.) Camera Take pictures and videos Why this permission: Facebook Messenger can use the camera to ... wait for it ... take a picture or shoot video. Microphone Record audio Why this permission: Facebook Messenger can use your microphone to ... wait for it ... record a message to send to a friend. Or make phone calls. Facebook Messenger Permission — Location Location Approximate location (network-based) Precise location (GPS and network-based) Why these permissions: Because Facebook Messenger, just just about every other social network, uses location for all sorts of things. And theres more than one way to get location on a device. Contacts Read call log Read your contacts Read your own contact card Why these permissions: Facebook Messenger is a messenger app, and it has the ability to sync up with your phone contacts. (Thats a separate process altogether, but it still has to declare the permission up front if its going to do any of it from your phone.) SD card Modify or delete the contents of your SD card Read the contents of your SD card Why these permissions: Facebooks addressed this one directly already regarding its Facebook proper app, but its also a pretty standard permission for any app that needs to cache data somewhere. In this case, think your friends contact pictures. Instead of downloading them every time you use the app, which is slow and costs data, it stores them. (And thats just one example.) And SD card is a misnomer (and another example of how permissions can be clunky), because its not actually talking about a physical SD card. Accounts Find accounts on the device Read Google service configuration Why these permissions: Facebook Messenger is a Facebook app. And you know how youre able to use your Facebook account to sign into other things. (Including our Mobile Nations sites, actually.) And if you look in the main accounts settings on your device, youll see the Facebook service listed here. Thus, the permission. Network Change network connectivity Download files without notification Full network access Receive data from Internet View network connections View Wifi connections Why these permissions: This sort of thing often sounds far more scary than it should. First, the obvious: Facebook Messenger needs a data connection. Full stop. That explains most of that there. As for downloading files without notification, ever wonder how Facebook apps sometimes look different even though you didnt actually update the app? There you go. (Not saying were a fan of that one, by the way. Wed prefer transparency.) Other permissions Run at startup: Facebook Messenger is a messaging app. In order to be effective, it needs to be open. So it sets itself to run at startup in the background. Draw over other apps: Two words: Chat Heads. Control vibration/prevent phone from sleeping: Pretty standard for notifications in an app like this. Read sync settings: Lets the app see if background syncing is on. Install shortcuts: Again, Chat Heads and your home screen. Facebook Messenger permissions The bottom line: Just because it sounds scary doesnt mean it is.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 23:44:23 +0000
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