Android App explosion risks outsourcing. (Photo/AP)
Attention Android users! The latest research from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organization in the United States, found that after some Android Apps obtain positioning permissions, the built-in third-party code may also collect the user’s positioning data simultaneously, and even the App developers may not be aware of it.
EFF pointed out that the problem lies in the third-party code used by many apps, namely SDK (Software Development Kit, software development kit). As long as the user agrees to the App accessing the precise location, the SDK will usually obtain the same permission simultaneously. Unless developers actively turn off this data collection feature, however, many developers may not even know that this feature is turned on by default.
In order to understand the actual situation, EFF analyzed the network transmission data of multiple Android Apps and found that two Android Apps secretly share user location data in the background. The cumulative downloads of the two Apps have reached 60 million times. However, EFF did not disclose the names of the two apps, but wanted to remind developers to check whether the apps have enabled unnecessary location data collection functions.
The most notable of these is the advertising SDK. This type of SDK was originally designed to help App developers place ads and increase revenue, but the location information collected may be further shared with third parties, increasing the risk of personal privacy leaks.
Users should protect themselves by doing this
In addition, Android currently does not have a permission mechanism that “only allows apps to use positioning and does not allow SDKs to obtain positioning.” Therefore, as long as the user authorizes the app to access positioning, the built-in SDK will usually obtain relevant permissions simultaneously. EFF recommends that developers turn off unnecessary location data collection functions; general users should also regularly check the location permissions of apps. For apps that do not require location functions, try not to turn on “precise location” and give priority to “Allow only while using the app” rather than “Always allow”.
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