What Android really needs is a way to accept/deny each permission separately. I see some apps. asking for some permission they clearly do not need to function, and you're left with a choice of either not installing the app. at all or having to give it the permission you don't want.
> <i>"Smartphone usage has skyrocketed, and some advertisers have begun to experiment with aggressive, new techniques to display ads on mobile devices. This includes pushing ads to the standard Android notification bar, dropping generically designed icons on the mobile desktop, and</i> modifying browser settings like bookmarks or the default homepage," <i>explains Lookout.</i><p>Wait, seriously? Perhaps I'm too accustomed to iOS, but I wouldn't expect a smartphone app to change the browser homepage.
Other important changes that will improve the ecosystem:<p>"Do not post an app where the primary functionality is to:
Drive affiliate traffic to a website or
Provide a webview of a website not owned or administered by you (unless you have permission from the website owner/administrator to do so)"<p>and<p>"Apps that are created by an automated tool or wizard service must not be submitted to Google Play by the operator of that service on behalf of other persons."<p>I wouldn't be surprised if 10% of all apps in the Play store fall in those categories.
This is quite significant as some of the bigger ad networks focus almost exclusively on these kind of ad units and have reasonable market shares (Airpush and Leadbolt are good examples): <a href="http://www.appbrain.com/stats/libraries/ad" rel="nofollow">http://www.appbrain.com/stats/libraries/ad</a>
Mobile apps are such a shitty situation; it seems like one either has to submit to the ridiculous walled garden approach or stand constant vigil against every app one installs.<p>All OSs need fine(r)-grained permissions, they need to supply fake data to apps that refuse to run without permissions, and in general make it deleterious to abuse the user's trust.<p>My ideal vision is sandboxed applications that can reach out to shared data stores or open external apps via some kind of intents; but only if the user allows them to. Also apps should be signed and the user should have the option of installing third-party CA certificates.
It would be nice if Apple would implement/actually enforce this as well. I have ads pushing out notifications on "deals" or whatnot daily. Good on Google for making this happen
"The Google Search app will be able to show Google Now ads for nearby businesses". We'll that's good that at least Google get's to show its ads, because it's "open" and you are its product.