Why do these apps do such a power grab?
In order to turn an electrical outlet on and off, they demand to be able to do the following on my Android phone:
- take pictures and videos (why?)
- track me with precise GPS coordinates at all times (why?)
- read, modify, and delete the contents of my SD card (hell, no)
- access a slew of network permissions, some of which make sense, and some don’t
- prevent phone from sleeping – why? need continuous GPS data to re-sell?
Pics & Vids: to take a picture of a device’s QR code during setup
GPS: to allow proximity rules to work. So you can set a rule that when you get home from work, a lamp will automatically turn on based on your presence.
SD card: for Android phone models that allow apps to be run off of SD cards instead of internal storage.
Network permissions: To monitor the state of the smart devices.
Sleeping: No idea on this one.
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