Hacker News Reader

It must have been nice while it lasted.

Android's capabilities system is much better with Android 6.0. Apps targeting the latest SDK require users to accept permissions at runtime, and those built with previous SDKs can have capabilities disabled through settings:

http://inthecheesefactory.com/blog/things-you-need-to-know-a...

View on HN

That's not really going to fix these things - if you can open a mic in the background without any UI to indicate it's happening, it will be abused. If I write an app with a legitimate need for the mic and get permission to use it, I can abuse it.

Initial research suggests that few or none of the apps using SilverPush had a legitimate use for mic permissions:

https://public.addonsdetector.com/silverpush-android-apps/

I'm getting a redirect loop on that for some reason. Archive.org version does work for me:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160320170615/https://public.ad...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com