Do you object to asking users? If so, why? My guess is that you know the answer will usually be "no".
See also: opt-out vs. opt-in e-mail spam.
What do you suppose the best way to ask for permission is? Please provide actual examples, perhaps from the companies you respect.
Literally ask for permission. That's what Apple does, as does almost every other traditional desktop software developer. On first launch, or when an error occurs, or when some other event that would involve sending personal/usage data to Apple occurs, they:
- Ask if you want to send the data
- Provide details on what kind of information will be sent (including, in some cases, providing access to the data itself)
- ... and usually give you the option to always send that kind of data
iOS asks for permission before exposing location information, or access to contacts/photos and I can see why, the information is highly private. I don't agree that "this user pressed this button at this time" quite fits into the same category of privacy though.
Yep, just once.
> I don't agree that "this user pressed this button at this time" quite fits into the same category of privacy though.
You're going to consume the user's resources by sending that information, and most users don't really want you to (for obvious reasons), so it seems most ethical to ask first.