Does anyone know of a Andorid Apps Blacklist? If not, are there any apps you'd put on it?

za8bit

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Hey guys and gals,

With the recent revelation that the NSA and GCHQ collect private information through games like Angry Birds, I've stopped using the accused apps and started wondering what other apps might be selling private information to spies. Luckily I just got my first Android phone so I never ever have to install Angry Birds at all. Google+ and a few other apps have also committed this crime of selling our private info.

In any case, if you haven't noticed I'm security paranoid, though these days it's really just become security aware rather than paranoid. Anyways, I'd like to know if any of you know of any other apps on the Play Store that do evil things and that we could boycott. As much as I liked Angry Birds back in the day on my iPhone, I am actually not getting it again due to their negligence in user privacy. I have done the same with Google+ as well.

I'm curious to know if anyone has ever made a blacklist with bad or misbehaving apps. I would love to know which apps to avoid. Let me know if any of you have any insights. And of course, feel free to discuss and debate the opinion I posted :)
 

Aquila

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Google+ is selling information? That'd be huge news, as it'd be a major violation of Google's privacy policy. If you have that information, I would strongly recommend forwarding it to journalists, Google's corporate office and probably a regulatory agency or two.

As for the black list, I'm not aware of one but I think it's a good idea: as long as people are being responsible about posting factually accurate reasoning, etc. The other really effective way of checking out apps is the reviews within the Play Store, looking for online reviews or articles and reading the permissions when installing them.

Lastly, if you are extremely concerned about internet privacy, I'd strongly recommend subscribing to a VPN service, using Incognito modes and staying off of all machines that utilize .net and all sites that allow cookies or redirects. E-mail should only be used with companies that explicitly advertise their success in suit against the government's warrant requests, etc. Protecting Android data by not using any apps isn't going to do much if you're using Firefox or Internet Explorer, etc.
 

Golfdriver97

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There is other types of sharing/selling of data that happens to be more aware and concerned about. Some lenders will sell SSN and other financial data to other brokers.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app
 

za8bit

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Saying Google+ is selling information is my assumption. Nonetheless they are leaking information. Candy Crush and Pinterest are also on the list.

I already take precautions such as VPNs, encryption, etc. But I'm pretty sure that if the NSA really wants our info, they're gonna get it unless we're security specialists. That said, I prefer to make it difficult for them and not use their number 1 collection apps, such as the ones mentioned.

In any case, I was curious to see if anyone has ever started a black list for apps, whether it be because of spying or simply bad apps. It would be a useful list to have :)
 

Aquila

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Saying Google+ is selling information is my assumption. Nonetheless they are leaking information. Candy Crush and Pinterest are also on the list.

I already take precautions such as VPNs, encryption, etc. But I'm pretty sure that if the NSA really wants our info, they're gonna get it unless we're security specialists. That said, I prefer to make it difficult for them and not use their number 1 collection apps, such as the ones mentioned.

In any case, I was curious to see if anyone has ever started a black list for apps, whether it be because of spying or simply bad apps. It would be a useful list to have :)

Okay I think I read the linked article slightly differently. What I think it says is that governments have used the permissions that those apps have to collect data from devices they've already infiltrated, not that the owners of those apps are providing the information. It's a small distinction for where data ends up at, but those apps (and their developers) are not being accused of voluntarily giving info away or creating back doors, etc. This is more of a commentary on app permissions on all mobile operating systems in general being too broad to accomplish the what the app actually needs to do in order to function. Another way of saying which lists are most "harmful" in the context of this article, would be to say that these apps have almost carte blanche access to the majority of the device.

To me, the bottom line is that if the NSA or another agency has already gained access to your device, which apps they use to collect data is pretty irrelevant. If one of these apps were the inroad, that'd be a different story... but while I agree that having a list of apps like that would be useful, it'd be difficult to keep fact checking the list to ensure that apps are not being added because of misinformed opinions about what they do or fail to do.