Re:Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Goog...
by ryandrake on Friday January 15, 2021 @10:54AM
(#25792243)
Apple solved this pretty well I thought. The developer guidelines say that you cannot require a permission as a condition of using an app. If the user says no, you must gracefully degrade. You can’t exit(0) or put up an undismissable screen until you get the permission. Apps that violate this are supposed to get kicked out of the store.
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Re:Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Goog...
by hackmiester on Saturday January 16, 2021 @02:37AM
(#25800785)
That’s not quite the full story. If your app absolutely must have the permission to operate, then it can be exempted from this requirement. I imagine “absolutely must” is up to interpretation.
Re:Tell HN: Dropbox now requires access to contacts for Goog...
by 8fingerlouie on Saturday January 16, 2021 @04:25AM
(#25801154)
> I imagine “absolutely must” is up to interpretation.
There is no way for app developers to "force" additional privileges.
They still can't exit(0), but for instance a GPS tracking app (navigation, running, whatever) that isn't allowed access to the GPS can't very well function without GPS access, so in that case your app is allowed to fail.
They cannot be excempted from asking for, and abiding by the users decision, but they can be excempted for not working "as advertised" should the user not provide the needed capabilities.