Downloads

[Marihoene]

Hi,
I got my phone a couple of days ago, and I'm a newbie to smart phones. Whenever I go to Samsung Apps or Play store(I think it's called that) and want to download something, it says the app requires access to different things like the internet, my battery, something about my calls etc. What does this really mean? The first two I can somewhat understand...Will the app need to "connect" with those things whenever I use it? Is it something I should avoid? *feels stupid*

 

[Adamsberg]

You might install the app 'Clueful' by Bitdefender from Play Store.
It will show you what these apps could do on your phone.

 

[STSVA]

Basically, the list is all the things the app could conceivably access, although typically if it does it's for some technical reason. For most apps it's not something to worry about.

 

[Marihoene]

Ah! I looked at the reviews for the apps(to see if they're not fake...they're seemingly popular), and was a bit worried that it might've been some sort of malware/spyware(particularly about the phone calls).

 

[monsieurms]

Ah! I looked at the reviews for the apps(to see if they're not fake...they're seemingly popular), and was a bit worried that it might've been some sort of malware/spyware(particularly about the phone calls).

There are some rogue apps out there! A smattering of reviews might not reveal that as the app may be newly rogue--or the reviews faked. It is said too that Amazon's app store is safer, as they supposedly review everything first.

Another line of defense---have an anti-virus program like Lookout installed to scan apps automatically before installation.

But frankly, for the most part the problem is not so serious. If you're dealing with major, longstanding folks like Evernote, PowerAmp, TripAdvisor, Aviary, Kindle, Lookout, Facebook, Astro File Manager, Netflix, Zinio, TunedIn Radio, various Google apps, etc......no problem. The permissions listed are often formalities (and if anything, I suspect a lot of them are overly broad to cover their legal butts).

Frankly, I can't always understand why some app asks for some permission or another. For instance, if you download a navigation app, it needs to access your location to have GPS work properly. Why does it need phone contacts? Sometimes, I wonder, too. I imagine if you email them they will have an explanation and it might even make sense---like, well, when you click on the link, it takes you to your Contacts and you can then call the restaurant in question so we have to have access to your phone contacts. I don't worry too much about it if using established apps.