• SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de
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    3 months ago

    For Android, the location permission was(is? not sure right now) basically required for anything that wanted WiFi or Bluetooth. As getting access to that, could in theory be used to locate you

    Not that this was necessarily the case here, but an explanation

    • toynbee@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      “required”

      Required by Google, yes, but not actually required in any functional sense of the word other than the function of spying on you in another insidious way. It worked without invasive permissions for a long time and you absolutely won’t convince me it wouldn’t now if data collection weren’t a priority.

      (This isn’t directed at you personally; apologies if it seems like it is.)

      • SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de
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        3 months ago

        Yeah, but the problem is, that app developers abused the WiFi/BT permission to locate people, without them knowing about it. So at some point the permission was changed to reflect the theoretical real world potential of abuse

        The downside is, that apps that don’t actually require your location, will still need to ask for it

    • trolololol@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Yep technically it’s called coarse location which in theory tells apps what neighborhood you’re in, but can be exploited by marketing to know if you’re in front of a shop stand. At least it won’t drain your battery with GPS usage.