If the INQUIRER is to be believed....
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Black Hat: Android wallpaper apps could be stealing data
POPULAR WALLPAPER PROGRAMS are capable of harvesting large amounts of users' personal data, according to a mobile security research team.
The researchers at Lookout found that several Android wallpaper applications were capable of harvesting the number, subscriber identifier, such as IMSI, and the currently entered voicemail number on the phone.
"While this sort of data collection from a wallpaper application is certainly suspicious, there's no evidence of malicious behavior," said the company in a blog post.
"There have been cases in the past on other mobile platforms where well-intentioned developers are simply over-zealous in their data gathering, without having malicious intent."
The apps in question came from two developers: "jackeey,wallpaper," whose developer name is now "callmejack," and "IceskYsl@1sters!". Their applications do send data back to a central server but the company says this is not necessarily suspicious. µ
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This is a concern for users of all smart phones that are open to a developers market. They put these abilities in the SDK to access phone data like our contact information is Facebook public.
Just like with the location aware apps, the API should prompt the user that the application wants to use/access contact information or any other data stored in the phone that was not originally downloaded with they app.
I don't like the idea that any app can be accessing my phone data when it is supposed to be doing what it was written to do. The OS and API designers really need to put these security features and more in place and fast.
It can eventually hurt small developers that do not have a trusted brand and can easily be held accountable for what their software does like apps by big brands.
Quick call the cops your Android just stole and gave away your personal information lol.
The OS designed with marketing in mind and not the consumer.
Give it another year before adds are talking to you through your phone as you walk by stores that pay giggle to spam you, and you have to click NO to adds every time you go to answer a call or open your phone. It's coming, they just have to get more people and get people more dependent on it before it gets that bad.
Sooo, when is the Android going to accept those lovely screensavers that kind people offer me via email?
It Does,
when you install an app you get a security notice pop up that tells you exactly what areas of the phone the app wants access too.
If you go to install a wallpaper app that requires access to your phone book then you really have to use the old gray matter... Just say no kids!