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Some Users Find Swype Keyboard App Makes 4000+ Location Requests Per Day

Posted by timothy on from the now-where-are-you dept.

New submitter postglock (917809) writes "Swype is a popular third-party keyboard for Android phones (and also available for Windows phones and other platforms). It's currently the second-most-popular paid keyboard in Google Play (behind SwiftKey), and the 17th highest of all paid apps. Recently, users have discovered that it's been accessing location data extremely frequently, making almost 4000 requests per day, or 2.5 requests per minute. The developers claim that this is to facilitate implementation of 'regional dialects,' but cannot explain why such frequent polling is required, or why this still occurs if the regional function is disabled. Some custom ROMs such as Cyanogenmod can block this tracking, but most users would be unaware that such tracking is even occurring." Readers in the linked thread don't all seem to see the same thing; if you are a Swype user, do you see thousands of location requests, none, or something in between?

16 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. This sounds more like incompetence... by Torp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... than malice.
    Or malice (location tracking) plus gross incompetence in implementation.

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    1. Re:This sounds more like incompetence... by mrxak · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Either way, I'm glad I don't use Swype.

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      -mrxak
      Onions Will Kill You
    2. Re:This sounds more like incompetence... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The Google Keyboard for Android sends what you're typing to Google servers 'to improve suggestions,' so I don't think that asking for your location a lot is the worst invasion of privacy of a mainstream on-screen keyboard app. The AOSP keyboard also requires a phenomenal list of permissions, including the ability to download files without notification, read contacts, modify or delete contents of USB storage and view accounts on the device. No idea why it needs all of these things - I wouldn't mind so much if it had access to all of my data for improving predictions if it didn't also have the ability to make network connections.

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    3. Re: This sounds more like incompetence... by robmv · · Score: 3, Informative

      download files without notification: dictionary updates
      read contacts: suggestions
      modify or delete contents of USB storage: I don't know why it needs this one, store dictionary outside private app directory?
      view accounts on the device: suggest your email address

    4. Re: This sounds more like incompetence... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      download files without notification: dictionary updates

      Could be bundled as part of the application, updated via the normal mechanism, without requiring it to have a permission that allows it to send data remotely ('download' can mean an HTTP GET with a really long query).

      read contacts: suggestions

      Most of the time, I'm not typing a contact's name so this sounds like it would lead to a lot of false positives. I've never seen it suggest a name that isn't a common English name though, so it doesn't seem to actually need this.

      modify or delete contents of USB storage: I don't know why it needs this one, store dictionary outside private app directory?

      If that is the case, it's bad design.

      view accounts on the device: suggest your email address

      It doesn't seem to ever do that for me...

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    5. Re:This sounds more like incompetence... by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The Google Keyboard for Android sends what you're typing to Google servers 'to improve suggestions,'

      Google keyboard provides an option to turn the feature off so there is that.

      so I don't think that asking for your location a lot

      Is it asking for your location? Is a list of take it or leave it demands most apps make these days really asking a question?

      is the worst invasion of privacy of a mainstream on-screen keyboard app.

      Perfectly happy to declare all of these fine contestants winners of the privacy invasion contest. I must say proliferation of cheesy excuses to collect data is truly inspired. We need to know where you are at all times physically to configure a localization setting...yea that's it...

  2. Re:Either way by mrxak · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hey, at least those cans and string aren't draining our batteries unnecessarily and uploading our every move to some company doing who knows what with it.

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    -mrxak
    Onions Will Kill You
  3. Can someone blow the lid on Android Apps? by Tasha26 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Each time an App wanted to update in the last 6 months, it was to increase its access to areas of my Samsung phone that I thought were completely un-necessary for it to work properly. Makes you wonder who in the Google Store is rubber stamping the ok on such Apps! When will privacy groups wake up and start lawsuits against App makers and/or Google? Maybe it will fist require a popular tech website to run a Top-10 Worst Privacy Infringing Apps in Google store.

    1. Re:Can someone blow the lid on Android Apps? by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Maybe it will fist require a popular tech website to run a Top-10 Worst Privacy Infringing Apps in Google store.

      Could as well flip it around and instead make a third party give a "Privacy Gold Star" for apps that don't infringe your privacy and don't require unnecessary permissions from the phone operating system.

    2. Re:Can someone blow the lid on Android Apps? by Solandri · · Score: 3, Informative

      If you're rooted, you can install XPrivacy. It doesn't try to block these apps, it just spoofs the data. So if I haven't given Swype permission to access location data, it will just get fed random locations all over the world every time it thinks it's getting my location.

    3. Re:Can someone blow the lid on Android Apps? by quetwo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hate to break it to you -- there is no human intervention required to publish to the Google Play Store, unlike the Apple App Store. The time from the last compile to the app being live in the store is about 15 minutes. So, to answer your wonder -- there is a lonely robot rubber stamping the ok on all those apps...

      Downloader beware!

    4. Re:Can someone blow the lid on Android Apps? by nblender · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This is one of the things I hate most about Android (having recently switched from an iphone to a Nexus5). I tried to install flashlight app but the top 5 or 10 all wanted egregious access to my phonecalls, instant messages, or full network access. I gave up.

      Later I read a slashdot comment from an Android app developer who said shortly after making his app available in the Play Store, he started receiving messages from individuals offering to pay him a per-download commission on his app if he would consent to linking their "library" in with his app... It was a very attractive commission... So that explains the requests for access to unreasonable things... I don't know how this is different in IOS-land... Maybe the apps just get that access without anyone knowing? Or maybe someone at the App store decides whether a flashlight app needs access to instant message logs ...

  4. Onr reason more to not use it by houghi · · Score: 5, Informative

    If anytime, they should only do that when I launch it the first time. And otherwise, it should look at the setings my phone is using and ONLy as a way to sufets what you want, not to set it.

    Mind you, they are not the only ones who think language and location are related. Among others, Google does this too. It does not look at my browser settings (which are in English) but instead guesses from my IP what language I should prefer. I live in Belgium aand guessing the language by location is wrong a LOT of the times.

    There is a reason why my browser setting is in English. That is because I WANT it in English. And just because I visit my parents in Spain or my sister in Germany or friends in the USofA does not mean there is any change in preferece in my language.

    To me it is broken by design.

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  5. MultiLing by B2382F29 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I am using multiling keyboard which allows swype input and doesn't even need network permission nor anything else than the user dictionary. https://play.google.com/store/...

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  6. Re:It's becoming more and more clear.. by nogginthenog · · Score: 4, Informative

    Android can already do this. The Amazon App store and F-Droid (FOSS) are 2 options.

  7. Re:Regional dialects by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Informative

    You need to understand that this application is trying to anticipate what you're trying to type before you type it. If you're at a stop&go and you start to type "I'm getting..." your next word might be Gas, Beer or robbed but it's probably not going to be "ready for work" that would be more likely if you were at home.

    That's quite a fairy tale you've constructed there to excuse a spyware app on your favoured phone platform.