Frankly, this reads as an apologia for Android/Google. Needing to download a third-party app (which may or may not be broken and/or available, according to different people in this thread) is not the equivalent of simply being able to go into device settings and set things directly.
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You know locations services exist on IOS because after you install an app that wants access to location services, a dialog box pops up to ask if you want to allow the app to have such access. The user does not have to do anything for this to happen. An app cannot gain access without a user specifically choosing what one wants. If a user changes his or her mind, the user then has to go into the devices settings to change what was selected. Further, when setting IOS up initially it also informs you about locations services and asks if you want to give Apple such access and tells you where the settings can be configured.
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In IOS, an app if you select that you do not want location services enabled for a certain app that needs such access, the app will not force close. It merely will limit functionality or tell the user that for certain features to work location services must be turned on. With that said, on Android you canāt shut off locations services regarding Googles services. That is the whole reason Android exists for Google (not a criticism just a fact). LOL. I do agree with the point you are making about IOS 7 being jailbroken. For the most part that is not an issue for me. I, however, have questioned Apple a couple of times on its decision to remove a few apps. For instance, the really well done iKumulsutra app Apple removed after having it on the store for years. The fact IOS is more locked down than Android though probably is why IOS is more secure. There are trade offs with both approaches, but we are straying from the main conversation.
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I am not sure what Appleās profit is with content, but I doubt that was the primary reason for offering content. Historically Apple has always offered free or low cost services (iTools, the iTunes Store, etc) and software (iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, etc.) to make its hardware more appealing. The software and services acted as a sort of trojan horse to make hardware sales. For years Apple operated at break even on content. To the extent Apple makes a profit on content today, I suspect it does so based merely on the massive amount of sales it makes and the established infrastructure. Sure ad revenues are higher for IOS users, but Google is the primary beneficiary of that. Last I checked Appleās iAds sales seem to only have about 10 percent of the market.
Not many users wrap their heads around the fact that iOS is iOS 5, or 6 or 7. Period. Android is thousands of different ROMs, and you can even roll-your-own. Google does not spy on everything you do on your deviceā¦ but your corrupt phone company could preinstall spyware to upload logs of everything you do. This is why I void the warranty and install a custom ROM the first day I own the device.
Iāve had the capability to deny permissions for years. First with PDroid and openpdroid, now itās baked in (P.A.C. ROM).
Regarding denying Google location access, itās no problemā¦
Well, Iāve been posting comments off and on here for years but I guess I am a new user to this comments system, so I am unable to upload screenshot awesomeness as proof of the above statements.
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iOS allows an easy way to lock apps out of a few of kinds of personal information, but no control at all over other information that you can deny on Android with root and a third-party app.
Neither vendor is on the side of the angels in this. Using any smartphone in a moderately private manner is frigging HARD. Locking permissions wherever possible helps, so does using third party software for core functions like mail, search, and contacts, so that nothing communicates with the mother ship. Using a VPN on top of those improves matters more, but in the end, thereās still a heck of a trade-of to be made.
I think in the long run the only real solution is going to be to direct all data comm to a proxy that will aggregate, clean, and forward traffic. Fortunately, not a few corporate IT departments are just as troubled by the security implications of all this, and I have some hope that such a proxy might be available soon.
Samsung carefully keeps developing their own alternates to all the core Google-specific apps. If they made all of those demonstrably private they might even be worth using, despite the fact that their UIs consistently bite rocks.
Correct!
I have to wonder how many app creators / companies out there that depend on this type of data for revenue contacted google in the day after the news articles started coming out. It could be an accidental release of a feature with issues, but it feels like google caved to developer pressure.
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Android works almost identically, with an option in the Settings>Location menu for as long as I remember. I should have been more specific, but the freedom to control Appsā ability to get your location has been block-able for a long time: what I was talking about is blocking all the other things apps want access to (mic, camera, contacts, phone state & identityā¦ and more).
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On Android itās the same deal with location, as apps since the beginning have understood that location sharing may be turned off. What I was talking about is the other permissions which, when called in the app may make the app force close as the developer has not written the app to deal with such a situation. I also believe youāve been drinking the apple kool-aid as you can and have always been able to turn off location sharing for Google services. Hereās a screenshot from my HTC One running stock 4.3:
The fact IOS is more locked down than Android though probably is why IOS is more secure.
Do you care to explain this comment orā¦?
@bpgleason if you search for āApp Opsā in the Google Play Store, youāll get results for unicorns.
Noā¦ noā¦ Try hitting āAppsā in the Play Store home screen before searching for āApp Opsā or search for the developer āColor Tigerā.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.colortiger.appopsinstaller
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