"Requires Access to"

[MSHU]

All,

does anyone have the authoritative list on what all of the things an application may require access to are? (e.g. phone identity, location, music and movie library etc) I'm looking for details of what all of the options are, and what is actually included in them.

I'm one of those folks who reads the fine print at the bottom of the app description and dont think random app developers need access to my location, music or identity unless the app actually uses those things. For example it seems weird to me that things like a compass app would require access to my music&movie library, but hey, it could simply be where it is storing some data file it needs????

I'm hoping that I am not repeating an old thread, but believe me, I've tried quite a few searches, including MS's knowledgebase site.

 

[thed]

Check this page. Click to expand the "How can I tell if an app requires a specific phone feature?" section.

Download Mobile Apps and Games FAQ | Windows Phone Marketplace | Windows Phone 7

 

[palandri]

I've noticed that also and I don't get it.

 

[palandri]

Check this page. Click to expand the "How can I tell if an app requires a specific phone feature?" section.

Download Mobile Apps and Games FAQ | Windows Phone Marketplace | Windows Phone 7

I understand that, but why would a news application need access to your music files. It's things like that he's talking about.

 

[Coffee]

no, some developers simply don't remove the extra capabilities that their app doesn't use by checking their appmanifest, and the marketplace has to report that the app uses them, even if it doesn't really access that area.

 

[thed]

I think Coffee is right. My guess is that the main reason is laziness. Even though MS makes it easy to figure this out, a lot of devs probably just don't want to bother figuring out what they actually need, so they just request a bunch of capabilities and call it a day.

You could try contacting them if they provide their info. Other than that, you just have to avoid those apps if you're concerned about it.

 

[MSHU]

Thanks guys. The ambiguity of what is actually shared for phone identity versus owner identity is a little scary, but it seems to confirm that a program wouldnt need access to things like a media library to store its own files, just read mine.

Now I just wish MS would let us set permissions per application rather than just accept the permissions the developer thought they needed.