Hi!
Hi! A few weeks ago I received a notice that there was a new LL update, but it came with a lot of permissions requirements. Is there any explanation for this sudden need of permissions?
Thanks!
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How did you receive the notice? From the app itself? From the Google play store? From another store?
Which permissions were added?
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From the Play Store. Permissions added are:
Device&app history
Identity
Contacts
SMS
Phone
Photos/Media/Files
Other
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Did you have a really old version?
Device&app history – can’t really say anything, I don’t remember
Identity – this was added to make a check and ensure that the app was correctly purchased
Contacts – this was already available before…if I’m not wrong
SMS – the same (To check the unread sms, I guess)
Phone – the same (to be able to call directly from a shortcut)
Photos/Media/Files – the same (to be able to save backups)
Other – here you will have something like ‘show things above other apps’, this is to show the floating desktop
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I have v. 12.5.2 (R2313), don’t know how old it is, but I usually update LL the moment I get the notification.
About the permissions,
Identity – this was added to make a check and ensure that the app was correctly purchased — Doesn’t Google Play itself provide that information? Do all apps need that permission then?
Contacts – this was already available before…if I’m not wrong — Well, not in my version, it seems
SMS – the same (To check the unread sms, I guess) — I’ve never noticed any lack of functionality without granting this permission
Phone – the same (to be able to call directly from a shortcut) — I’ve never noticed any lack of functionality without granting this permission
Photos/Media/Files – the same (to be able to save backups) — I’ve never noticed any lack of functionality without granting this permission
Other – here you will have something like ‘show things above other apps’, this is to show the floating desktop — Actually, what it says is “access mail information”
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Hmm, maybe I’m wrong.
I’ll call Pierre Hébert in case he has more specific information to share.
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Google Play Store doesn’t show the new permissions anymore. Instead it shows all permissions, even if only one was added.
Regarding Identity check: yes, play store makes a check, but only when installing. If you install a pirated apk directly, play store can’t interfere and therefore won’t check anything.
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“Google Play Store doesn’t show the new permissions anymore. Instead it shows all permissions, even if only one was added.”
Ahh, that explains a lot!
“Regarding Identity check: yes, play store makes a check, but only when installing. If you install a pirated apk directly, play store can’t interfere and therefore won’t check anything.”
OK. But I have to say that I disagree entirely with the concept. It’s like DRM on music, or videogames. Why should I, a legal user, grant a certain permission if I haven’t done anything wrong? Pirates will be pirates, there’s no stopping them. At least, do not annoy your paying customers.
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That’s your opinion, and I respect it.
I took a closed look and I were wrong. The identity permission is not used for the play store permission check, that permission is under ‘others’ and it’s called exactly that.
The identity permission is ‘discover accounts on the device’, only discover. I think it is used so that where adding a unread gmail dynamic text, it can show you a list of gmail accounts to choose (before you ask, this feature is broken in current version, will be fixed on next)
Also notice something: lightning doesn’t have the internet permission. Pierre has chosen the minimum permissions required, and he even said a lot of times that it is a nightmare trying to add a new one. But this time it was necessary because of the floating desktop.
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Most permissions have been added in version 5.
I am not sure how the internal permission names translate with the user visible names, so here is the list, as requested by the app in the manifest file:
The following are quite self explanatory:
This one is used to bring an app to front when leaving the built-in lock screen
This one is needed when starting a call directly from the launcher, because in that case the launcher can call special numbers (emergency, paid, etc.)
These ones are needed by the missed call (call log, contacts,telephony subset), unread sms (READ_SMS) and gmail notifications (get_accounts, read_content_provider).
Play Store status check
For the Tasker plugin, this app needs this permission
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Pierre Hébert
Hi and thanks a lot for your explanation. I know nothing about coding or programming but I assume a launcher needs a hell of permissions. It’s the chassis of the UI, so I am not really questioning the need of permissions. I just was surprised about LL suddenly needing so many new permissions, but as Lukas Morawietz explained, it is due to Google Play now showing all the permissions needed for the app instead of only the new ones (which was what I thought).
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