I’ve done this on a simple timer app I developed.
Why? Because I want the timer to stop automatically during a phone call. To do this I need to request READ_PHONE_STATE (which bafflingly tells the user the permission is to “make and manage phone calls”). Unfortunately, there’s no way to alter the permission request to tell the user (at least in Android) why you want the permission. They really need to make the permissions more granular and provide some way for devs to communicate what the permission is for.
This is why, on the occasion of necessary permissions not being set, a lot of apps nowadays have a popup which tells the user something like “you need to grant permission for X because it actually lets this app do legitimate thing Y” like you just told us, with a button to click over to do the permissions grab and trigger the OS popup.
Smooth workarounds are out there!
Pre-permissions pop up:
Pre-permissions checklist:
Obviously, the calculator app needs camera permission for scanning complex formulas that would otherwise require lengthy manual input and calculating them automatically.
I mean, you can download one in 10 seconds if you really need one (or use Spotlight)
Friendly reminder to my Android peeps that https://f-droid.org/ rocks!
I think I open up the google play store like twice a year.
Had to get a Gallery app from there last week
gstore idea of gallery app is ads in your stolen pictures
Seriously, is that how far we came?
laughs in LineageOS
But seriously folks, you can survive without Google Play Store. While it definitely is sometimes not easy and there are obstacles put in your way, after a certain time you learn to accommodate. And I have a peace of mind knowing that no one is selling my pictures to data foraging companies God knows where.
at this point you can get a pixel 6 (dunno about other models) and really easily unlock the bootloader and install lineageos, then with microg and aurora store you can install any apps you need from gplay, with an absolute bare minimum of proprietary code running on your phone and with most of the conveniences people expect.
it’s amazing how little how you have to sacrifice.
I wouldn’t be laughing with lineageos, its way less secure than stock android
Why do you think LineageOS is way less secure?
there are various issues such as not being able to relock the bootloader like on grapheneos and calyxos
Majority of the stuff there should be on play store too.
I open F-Droid like every week just to know what’s new. Found some cool apps that way. I’ll drop some recommendations here:
Thumb-Key
Quasseldroid
QRAlarm
Audile
You know what’s also annoying AF? The number of apps that keep asking permissions when you open then. Doesn’t matter how many times you say no.
Yeah, NordVPN does that now if you have notifications turned off. I turned them off because I would get notifications that were basically ads. Now, I have to dismiss their “please turn notifications on” screen every time I open it up. This will be my last subscription with them.
The app I use to write notes needs access to everyone in my Contacts. For “reasons”.
Stop using that app and find a different one.
there are so many open source note apps that actually respect you
Simple Notes (Pro)
This is one of the many reasons I built my own weather application for Android. Too much crap out there.
Are you willing too share? Been looking for a good weather app.
On F Droid lots of beautiful ones. Breezy, Prognoza, Rain, and more.
Try openweather
I use Openweather and it suffices.
It can be found on Google Play, Weather Warbler. I haven’t put it on F-Droid yet. Still adding features, so it’s not complete yet, but getting there.
Thanks. I just installed it. You’re right, it’s straightforward and no bullshit about it. How refreshing.
Glad you like it.
So now are you spying on me somehow? I don’t understand apps, I didn’t pay for this, so what are you getting out of it if it’s free for me? serious question because I don’t know how the world works.
That’s a great question. I’m using the API from Open Weather. It’s free for the first 1000 requests, then like fifteen cents per 100 after that. They also have a free version of their API.
Eventually, if enough people start using it, I’ll switch to the free, limited version. So I don’t share this app with others much.
What am I getting out of it? I built it because I was tired of other weather apps and also wanted something to add to my portfolio since I’m trying to switch from SDET to Android developer.
Well i also installed it now and it is great! Indeed a no BS design and really simple (in a good way). If a paid option comes along I will definitely get it if am not a poor student anymore. Only issue i had was that I was not able to switch to mm\hour (unresponsive ui button) on my FP5 but I expected so much less and you have already blown me away. If you would progress development a widget would be nice. (I really don’t expect further development but maybe youappreciated the feedback.
And how does the free API differ? Less exact data like graphs?
Anyhow, thanks for the great app!
Well yeah. So it can look at its work on the paper.
You weren’t expecting your calculator app to do all that math in its head, were you?
It also wants to access your location and nearby devices and wifi
Weather wants your location so you can get weather for where you are
iPads : I’m once again asking you to download a calculator app from the app store
F-Droid ftw!
Oh don’t worry, there will be a reason.
Calculator camera permissions are so you can take a picture of a mathvproblem and it will do it for you.
Phone call management is to allow phone calls to be recognized by the apk so it will do things like stopping video and muting its sound so the phone call can have priority over other things.
Come on… A calculator app needs network access, but that’s it.
Is this an Android meme I’m too iOS to understand?
Sort of. I don’t remember the specifics, but it used to be that some apps completely unrelated to phone calls had to request access to make phone calls because of some stuff they needed that Google only allowed them access to if they had the phone call permission.
I believe Google has since changed it so most of that stuff is now a separate permission not related to phone calls, so you don’t see it as often now. It can still happen with older apps, though.
How quickly the fan boys come to downvote you for being correct. 🤣
“Android bad, they hate us for being right” --iOS users after pointing out the flaws in a satirical meme
You guys are too funny. 🤣
truly I must bow to your superior intellect. iphones have so many more features, like not being able to sideload apps, not being able to use a terminal or actual filesystem, not being able to install browsers that aren’t reskins of safari, not being able to use apps that would totally work on my device because Steve jobs thought they looked bad with a different screen size, and strawman arguments about what android was like 10 years ago. iOS is clearly superior and I’m gonna sell my phone today
Oh my gosh! All of those would be super helpful if I actually cared to use them! I don’t need my phone to be a mobile computer. That’s why I have a desktop!
I sideload apps like YouTube that has sponsor block and it also blocks ads, just so I can airplay it to my television. That’s all I need.
Some of us just like a simple device. I don’t need the rest of that. My god dude, it was a fucking joke because androids have always had these weird ass permission requests.
I hate Apple as much as the next guy, but I like the ecosystem. That’s all I need for my use case.
Get a grip, and relax. Take a fucking joke. The way you’re reacting is EXACTLY why I made the god damn joke in the first place. 🤯
I have been using android since 2013 and that was legitimately the last time I saw any such “weird permission request”
I hate Apple as much as the next guy, but I like the ecosystem
which is a fancy way of saying “I hate Apple as much as the next guy, but I still bought all their products”
Ah yes. The two things I own. The watch and the phone. That sure is ALL the Apple products available to buy. You got me all right!
I’m not going to sit here and bicker with your dense ass over something as minuscule as what mobile OS we each prefer.
Pull your head out of your ass, learn to take a fucking joke.
Best wishes to you.
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The vast majority of the Android/iOS flamewar is pro Android on fedi (mostly Mastodon for me). I usually don’t bother but I thought my comment was at least sort of funny? oh well.
It was funny! These people act like THEIR way is the ONLY way. Not all of us want our phones to be mobile computers with full feature sets. I just want a simple device that has a very nice ecosystem where everything connects and works together 98% of the time. Apple sucks too, who would’ve thought.
What camera app are you lot using? I’m just using the default Google one and it works as expected with no bullshit.
That’s because it automatically allows camera permission obviously!
Oh man, I hope the sarcasm is just implied.
Simple Camera