Cyanogenmod Puts Users in Control of Permissions

An anonymous reader writes "Cyanogenmod is soon to have a better permissions systems, allowing its users to deny certain permissions to the applications they install. Users are warned that enabling this feature on the nightly build may cause applications to crash or 'force close', but a new dialog allows them to easily return the permissions to stock if they wish. Hopefully Google implements a system similar to this very soon." This is the biggest feature I've missed from Symbian — it never made sense to me why the permissions system didn't put the user in control from the first release.

Comments

Not gonna happen in stock Android

[Anonymous Coward]

This feature will never come to stock Android. Google makes their money from Android by delivering ads, which is what pays for all those free apps. If I could download a free app and block it's ability to connect to the internet, I instantly block the ads. You can like it or hate it, but the fact is this ability would cripple the entire current Android ecosystem.

Re:Not gonna happen in stock Android

[SharpFang]

There is still option of Google separating "obtain targetted display ads" permission from "Full network control"+"Phone location". Making the "ads" permission unblockable.

I really am not happy that an app which does require access to my local filesystem can simultaneously send its entire content to a remote server and let the author track my location - when all I consent for is to display ads relevant to my city.

Re:Not gonna happen in stock Android

[poetmatt]

That's not crippling the android ecosystem, that's a benefit and adds value to the system as a whole. All these developers who act like they magically never existed before they made ad-supported apps can shove it and go back to the reality of : ads were never welcome, and developers can live without ad revenue.

Re:Seriously, that was the stupidest thing Google

[CharlyFoxtrot]

Sounds like a headache for developers: "these are the permissions you can ask for, but it's not sure they'll actually be granted." Then you'd have to build in checks absolutely everywhere because you can't rely on anything. Sounds more like a compromise position than anything malicious to me.