When starting to update my AIR app to 4.0.0.139 on my Android devices through the Google Play store I found a number of new permission requirements.
They are:
New: Approximate location
New: Receive data from Internet
New: Prevent tablet from sleeping
New: Find accounts on the device
So does this mean that flash apps not using a captive runtime will no longer have to directly request these permissions from the user because the AIR libraries have already acquired them? This could be misleading to the user who installs an AIR app that will have far greater permissions that what they thought they were approving.
My big question is why are these permission needed? As a developer I submit the Android permissions I need for my app into the application descriptor file. So why does AIR itself need all these extra permissions?
As a consumer i've started finding too many apps that want access to run at startup, know my location, or contacts, or accounts, with no apparent reason for it. I've been uninstalling such apps or refusing to update them further. Does Adobe worry that other consumers may follow suit? Does the AIR libraries really need these permissions? Why?
Thanks in advance.