Hostage permissions

This is why I really like grapheneos. They've created scoped permissions, so the operating system tells the application Yes you can see this thing, but it's empty. Right now they've implemented scoped storage, and scoped contacts. So if it tries to extort you to see your entire contact list you can limit it to an empty list, a very limited list, or everything if you don't care

https://grapheneos.org/features#storage-scopes

I installed it earlier this year on android. But it wouldn't let me sign in or browse without syncing my contacts from my phone.

So I uninstalled it.

Consider pixelfed, the fediverse alternative to Instagram

Instagram no longer allowed to be installed on my phone, how is that for a deal, Meta?

I set up Amazon Echo buds recently. I have no desire to use any of the Alexa crap on them and just wanted cheap, decent noise cancelling Bluetooth earbuds on prime day. You apparently can't set them up without the Alexa app and like all the permissions. I downloaded it on an old phone that's practically blank, set up the buds, and deleted the app. Once it's set up you can use like regular Bluetooth earbuds. They wanted location all the time and a few others (microphone maybe?). Selecting only allow this time wouldn't even work. I get it Bezos, u want my data, but fuck off u aren't getting it.

all meta's apps are suck ngl. i hate the way i can't paste image from clipboard in whatsapp chat without giving whatsapp permission to manage my storage.

Gonna play Devil's Advocate for a moment here.

I assume that this isn't actually for nefarious purposes, and is actually just a low-effort way of curbing spambots on their platform. It's likely that the bots are using emulated devices to post from the official app, and this permission might lock up a lot of those bots. Obviously this wouldn't be the best way to combat spambots, but I'm gonna go with Hanlon's Razor on this one.

I know the immediate first thought most people will have is that this is just so Meta can open up another avenue to spy on you. But let's consider for a moment the logistics involved in that. Audio/video data is huge; capturing and parsing it it requires a non-insignificant amount of CPU/battery usage, and transmitting it will use a good bit of bandwidth, both of which would be noticeable by even novice users (since most modern devices these days will show an on-screen indicator whenever certain sensors are being activated, and will tell you what app is using it, so seeing Instagram trigger your mic/camera when you're not using it would be immediately noticed by just about everybody). That would also make this one data stream exponentially more costly to gather and process for Meta than most of their other data streams combined.

Also consider the fact that Meta already has over a million data points on just about every single person on the planet, anyway; what could they stand to gain by monitoring your IRL presence that they haven't already inferred from the other, less-invasive data they've gathered on you? Half of the recordings they'd get would be farts and "oh my god, stop barking, nobody's even at the door", and Meta probably already knows that you have a dog and lactose intolerance.

It's more expensive to produce, it's more likely to be detected, and there's less of a guarantee that you even get any usable data from it at all since they already know just about everything about you already. I really don't see spying as the end goal for this particular action, only because it doesn't seem like a profitable venture.

None of this is to suggest that Meta isn't spying on you. They are. They 100% are spying on each and every one of you. I just don't think the mic/camera are how they're doing it.

It's a new frontier in sourcing material for AI training...

If they don’t already have rules about this, Google and Apple should update their store rules to prevent this crap.

Not surprised. It’s just Meta being Meta and garbling up all yo data so that it can make money from it. Maybe don’t use the app. Try accessing from your mobile browser.

They keep filtering the stupid people, but there's always more.

I keep wondering what zuck has to do to be more obvious, but it seems like an infinite horizon to someone whe never signed up for any meta product.

Also, soft switches don't really turn things off. Physical covers over cameras, mics, and speakers can't be overridden.

I only use Instagram to look at the reels my family sends me, I don't allow myself to use it for anything else because you can easily waste 2 hours and feel miserable afterwards. What I like about Lemmy is I can get through all new posts for the day in at most 20 mins and maybe learn about some interesting while I'm at it.

I believe that there's some app out there for Android that lets one create a spoofed environment for apps that demand certain permissions to function. Returns bogus data to them. Might require a rooted device, though.

goes looking

Yeah.

I think I'm thinking of XPrivacyLua, which requires Xposed, which in turn requires a rooted device.

EDIT: all that being said, I do think that if practicable, it is kind of an argument to use something other than Instagram, and more broadly, to try to keep use on a personal computer rather than phone, where it's easier to deal with or avoid shennanigans like this.

gee, guess i'll just have to continue never using it, then...

I wonder if saving the website as an app would work around this restriction?

iOS plus Facebook

The "dream" combo