cause a program to be uninstalled when it should merely be updating.
Always the same programs doing this, have fairly frequent updates,
most of the updates are "normal" and proceed, a few updates are
actually the app being uninstalled - no user intervention causing or
asking for an uninstall, only a normal from-market update!
Specifically:
Hypnotoad To Go (yesterday's update became uninstalled, dropped 2
permissions and added 1 permission)
Gowalla (Shows uninstalled, but is in fact still installed on device,
permissions increased once "re-installed" added 2 permissions - app
still functions)
Vignette (every time, adds or removes a permission each time
installed, but device still shows installed - app still works)
Chess.com (every update, becomes an uninstall, but has only added one
permission the first time - for full Internet access)
Wordpress (noted once, does not update often, and was the first time I
saw an app "do that")
Meridian Media Player (either a complete uninstall, or updated but
loses registration code everytime)
Becuase of these auto-uninstall (not asked for by user) methods, the
market has no way of knowing if and when permissions are changed,
whether dropped or added. ZERO apps that have done this ever warn
that the program would be or might be uninstalled, they just look as
if they will merely be updated as usual.
I haven't found the 3 or so other apps that I have seen this behavior
from, but I will edit this post as-needed.
I do not believe this is a market issue, as the consistency of some
apps doing this (in these cases, all of them, they are NOT marked as
Manual Update) belies that evidence.
On some of the more consistently "updated" apps, I have tried both
with an Update All approach, and as an individual update as it either
presented itself, or by my choise of individually updating on purpose
(when not chosing the Update All option).
Let's put it this way, IF all this is a market glitch, THEN it needs
fixing ASAP, as it affects the reputation of ALL developers and the
market.
The permissions I have a problem with being asked are generally:
Read Contact Data (rarely made specific)
Read System Logs
Why my concern? Because MANY, if not, MOST apps ask on a per-needed
basis to send a crash report (with or without a system log). System
log access, and do not need a system log read - other than what
Android standard is given on a force close/report window - and rarely
needed to patch an app properly anyway, especially when all of the
apps that have recently requested this permission rarely crash!
Contact data also is only needed precisely WHEN and IF you want to
share a contact. There is no reason to expect users to fell
"burdened" to check a box for each contact (the excuse sometimes
given, "it makes the user experience more streamlined". Ya,
whatever.).
One additional, slightly related issue:
Programs, specifically like Meridian, request payment OUTSIDE of the
market. The market should NEVER allow that.
Also, once an app is paid for, a later update that asks to elevate
unwarranted permissions, the user should be given a choice for a FULL
refund - no matter when the update or no matter how long a user has
had that app - OR Android should have natively built in methods for
blocking permissions with a choice box: for things like Full Internet
- when before was only needed for running ads, Contact reads, ANY data
writes, SD card moves/adds/deletes/writes, etc. Apps that POLL should
most definitely be wrangled accordingly, as they are the most
offensive to batteries staying charged (rarely is it a "clear RAM"
issue, it can be a RAM issue as with the oldest Android devices, but
most of the newer models that is very rare).
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