Apps phone requirement

aquimosa

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Do you observe the apps being installed on our phone needs all the data w/c involves phone identity, owner's identity, video and location to name a few. Am i getting paranoid why some apps need such info even if the application does not use or need such data in order for the application to work. Anyone notice this?
 

rockstarzzz

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Do you observe the apps being installed on our phone needs all the data w/c involves phone identity, owner's identity, video and location to name a few. Am i getting paranoid why some apps need such info even if the application does not use or need such data in order for the application to work. Anyone notice this?

Nope nothing to get paranoid as it only identifies your phone so that it knows what it is being installed to. It needs to know your ID to make sure you can reinstall the app using same ID if you change your phone. It needs video library if the app uses photos hub to store temp files (most apps will!) and location if the app is designed to be location aware. However things like location is a yes or no thing. If you can check in without using your location, you are allowed to say "No" when the toast notifications asks you if you want to allow Foursquare to access your location or not.
 

aquimosa

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Thank you for enlightening me, i can sleep very well now without worrying that my daily usage and info using my phone has something to be worried about.
 

hopmedic

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Nope nothing to get paranoid as it only identifies your phone so that it knows what it is being installed to. It needs to know your ID to make sure you can reinstall the app using same ID if you change your phone. It needs video library if the app uses photos hub to store temp files (most apps will!) and location if the app is designed to be location aware. However things like location is a yes or no thing. If you can check in without using your location, you are allowed to say "No" when the toast notifications asks you if you want to allow Foursquare to access your location or not.

This isn't correct. These capabilities are all chosen by the developer when he writes the app, and have nothing to do with the store tracking which phone or which account the app is being installed to.

See this post and my followup a couple posts below it.
http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8/230008-location-services.html#post2006555
 

aquimosa

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So you mean all the info required by the developer has nothing to do with microsoft? How about the confidentiality microsoft put into terms with users if the developer has access into it? Does it mean developer had a blanket when it comes to soliciting info whenever we use their apps?
 

hopmedic

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The developer can ask for whatever he wants to. It is up to you to decide if you want to give it. Most of the time, though, the reason the developer is asking for these things is so that he can earn money from ads, because the ad SDKs all require certain info, and which info is required depends on which ad network is used.

Each app that accesses the internet must have a privacy policy. If I remember right, it can be either in the phone or on a website, but there must be one. I also (going by memory) believe it is specified that it be easily discoverable. And since ads require the internet, a privacy policy is required. Note, though, that this is a new requirement, I think with the advent of WP8 or shortly thereafter. So older apps that were developed under WP7 guidelines did not have to have a privacy policy. Here's mine: Privacy Policy
 

aquimosa

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But whenever i use app, no notification shows if i want to be tracked or will i give my phone id. Once i installed the apps it said phone required the ff info so i assume developer informed beforehand the user, i must say, if you don't want to allow the required info you must not install,this app.
 

hopmedic

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The app requirements are listed in the store listing. If an app requires location, it will pop up as a warning when you install. I can't think of any others that do that, though.

Two of the app certification requirements for location-aware apps, though, are that the first time it uses location, it must notify you, and there must be an easily-discoverable way of disabling the use of location services from within the app. Not so with all of the other capabilities.
 

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