1

I have noticed that for few apps containing ads, they will ask for READ_PHONE_STATE permission. After tracking down their bytecode, I find they call TelephonyManager.getDeviceId(). Is it necessary for app containing ads ask for DeviceID? It's malicious to me because it seems that these apps will leak my private information.

Wei Yang
  • 895
  • 3
  • 15
  • 26
  • "Necessary" is going to be very subjective here, but my immediate reaction is this is some form of "tracking" – lc. Oct 21 '13 at 04:55
  • Thanks for commenting! lc. The "necessary" here means "is Ads library like Admob require information such as DeviceID"? If it's something that developer can avoid, I would regard it as not necessary. – Wei Yang Oct 21 '13 at 04:59

1 Answers1

1

Admob at least doesn't require that permission. All it needs is Internet access permission.

I can't tell if other providers require more permissions.

Szymon
  • 42,577
  • 16
  • 96
  • 114
  • 1
    Thanks for answering! I do see some [post](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4524752/how-can-i-get-device-id-for-admob) asking how to get deviceID for Admob. I'm wondering why do they need it. – Wei Yang Oct 22 '13 at 01:53
  • This is most likely because people want to put their own devices into test mode and they need device id. – Szymon Oct 22 '13 at 13:19