Most people don't yet know that many Android software leak all sorts of information to the internet with only scant user acknowledgement (basically what you accept when you install the app).
Due to this and the fact that there are already privacy information harvesting apps for Android on the marketplace - a team of security experts have created TaintDroid:
What is TaintDroid?
From the project's web page: "A realtime monitoring service called TaintDroid that precisely analyses how private information is obtained and released by applications "downloaded" to consumer phones."
From: http://appanalysis.org/index.html
How can I install TaintDroid?
As TaintDroid is currently compiled into the kernel, you cannot easily install it, but you have to cook your own kernel. Instructions (for Nexus 1) are available at the project web site: http://appanalysis.org/download.html
How does TaintDroid work?
Here's a video demonstrating how TaintDroid works once it is installed and configured:
http://appanalysis.org/demo/index.html
Why would you want to install this?
There can be many reasons for installint TaintDroid:
- You want to learn about privacy features and play with Android kernel
- As it is currently impossible to differentiate between innocent and sneaky Android apps based only on what access rights they request, you may want to dig in deeper
- You are worried about what apps are doing behind your back and you want to know which apps to uninstall
- You want to help create Android a more secure and privacy-protected platform, instead of the swiss cheese it currently is
What can you do?
As compiling kernels is mostly beyond the reach of mere mortals currently, consider cooking TaintDroid into your kernel, if you are cooking one yourself and offering it available for others to try and use.
Hopefully increased awareness and usage will bring this program eventually into other modders and perhaps even Google's attention and something more easily accessible is offered for the public at large.
BTW, I'm just a user, interested in getting TaintDroid on my own Galaxy S. I'm not affiliated with the research program, but I like what they are doing. This information is purely FYI.
+1 for the idea
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
+1
Since we cannot expect information gatherer Google to come up with a good privacy protection mechanism soon I think we are forced to take measures ourselves.
I also learned that several of my bought applications are constantly forcing me to enable synchronisation and/or 3G internet. They either randomly uninstall (Asphalt 5), their icons disappear (for example: Mini-squadron) or won't start, with (Schredder Chess) or without a message. Angry Birds Beta2 lite (free game) and Hungry Shark are 2 more examples. So much for an incentive to buy games...
It would be great if applications used a well-defined mechanism to check their validity on-line, and not have this sneaky, lingering attack from all sides to any privacy or battery consumption aware user.
I can not cook Kernels, but this is something i want to use.
Not that i am worried, but i dont know what apps are sending when you open them. Thats something i want to know!
I am sure i am not the only one.
+1
Yes please... This should be in all android phones... as a security option you could turn on!!!
Antonyjeweet said:
Not that i am worried, but i dont know what apps are sending when you open them. Thats something i want to know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And do some of these applications only send stuff when you open them?
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From a user perspective it currently is really difficult to judge applications that need to start at boot-up and deal with many facets of your computer (Launchers, tools combining lots of divers features).
Do you know some ROM where Taindroid is included?
I've posted in hardcore and laststufo kernel threads to ask if they could add it.
We just need more people wanting it so they think about adding it
exadeci said:
I've posted in hardcore and laststufo kernel threads to ask if they could add it.
We just need more people wanting it so they think about adding it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
glad you did that
+1 support the idea. hope some of our hardworking kernel builders will add this in.
My concern is how much another real time service will affect battery life. For people trying to make the leanest, fastest kernel I'm not sure it's viable.
I have been wanting TaintDroid built into android by default since the day it was announced, but I really do not think google cares about this, so please, please ROM cookers out there (Maybe Doc?), lets add this into our galaxy S roms.
Well, this seems to work only on android 2.1
Make it so.
+1
Combined with walldroid (or other firewall) this could put back power into users hands. Would really love to see this inside hardcores kernel. Maybe as an option for the stable releases?
+1
This should be the next standard in aAndroid
idea about spoofidroid application
how about a program to spoof or make the phone send fake:
GPS location,
IMEI,
phone number,
simcard id,
etc... information to applications that ask without permission.
this way you can feed these application with information they want but without breaking your privacy. (both end sides are more than happy)
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nice option to have:
1) enable/disable auto generate different id every time.
2) allow list / ban list of application to have real or fake id.
3) enable/disable notify for application request.
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there are all ready applications that fake your simcard PLMN mobile network codes without the need of kernel rights, but you need to enable disable the flight mode to restore the default code.
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good luck to spoofidroid or similar applications.
Jumba said:
My concern is how much another real time service will affect battery life. For people trying to make the leanest, fastest kernel I'm not sure it's viable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope there will be developers out there who prioritize privacy/security over speed/battery and storage usage.
I'm the project lead of the TaintDroid system. We are currently working on a few extensions of TaintDroid but unfortunately are short on engineering resources to port TaintDroid onto other systems than Nexus One that we originally developed. We'd greatly appreciate it if XDA developers would take on this effort! Many ongoing projects would hugely benefit from having easy-to-run TaintDroid ROM available for many different devices and upcoming Android systems let alone user benifit.
Thanks,
Jaeyeon
Research Scientist @ Intel Labs Seattle
Ettepetje said:
I also learned that several of my bought applications are constantly forcing me to enable synchronisation and/or 3G internet. They either randomly uninstall (Asphalt 5), their icons disappear (for example: Mini-squadron) or won't start, with (Schredder Chess) or without a message. Angry Birds Beta2 lite (free game) and Hungry Shark are 2 more examples. So much for an incentive to buy games...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
beta2 lite? i think that was malware, make sure it came from rovio otherwise it's fake and you should delete it.
It's really scary to see with the lookout app how many apps can access to your imei, telephone number "Read Identity Info", can access your contacts, track your position, and can send out all this data.
Here a HTC Desire user, asking for some privacy.
Best regards!
Hello, XDA-Developers!
Basics: I'm looking for someone who can develop an Android app. It needs to be a simple application to fetch pages from a web site from a phone-friendly interface. It's intended to be a companion to the web site to enable easier access.
Background: I run a gaming website, gameshard.net. We're doing ok, and in order to reach out to new users and make it easier for users to access the site, I want to develop an Android app. But I have no android development knowledge at all. So I'm looking for help!
The Specifics: The GameShard.net app should be a simple, clean app designed to let users access information on the website through a touch-friendly interface. Specifically, users should be able to access the latest news, our library of reviews, features, and their profile (and inbox) from the device. The closest similar example I can think of for reference is the Eurogamer app for iOS. The app will be free, so incorporating adverts in a non-intrusive way would be welcome.
I leave it to the developer to decide what the easiest way to do this would be. It might be that the app could be a simple launcher for a custom iOS version of the website, or perhaps it would be better to fetch the data in a different way- I'm open to your ideas! And I'm willing to pay for your time, of course.
So, thats my pitch! Please let me know if you have any questions, and if you're interested in working on this send me a message.
Hi guys,
I think it's very important to share app on social media in order to attract more attention and gain fast growth.
Has anyone used any SDK to realize this function? can you recommend me some good SDK to use?
Thanks!!
What are you trying to do? It seems like you're making it harder than it has to be.
Check my Share Intent guide in my signature. I would just use those to share a certain bit of text promoting your app, at which point the user can select what app/platform to share to.
Hi everybody, i would like to validate an idea which is not a mobile app but a service that could help mobile developers in promoting their apps...or at least i think it could!
So, this is the idea: i would like to create a promocodes service.
It would allow mobile apps (but even web apps) to call the service to verify promocodes validity so that developers can easily integrate the service within their apps, and have a gui to create and manage all the promocodes (with analytics about usage). I think this should help developers promoting their apps: dev could give promocodes away to blog reviewers or as a sort of bonus for another app or for other services to users.
I'm honestly asking your opinion about this idea and would like to know what do you think about it. I would be very gratefull to hear anybody's opinion, so please, post a reply and give me feedbacks!
Thanks in advance.
Just to clarify: my idea is about a webapp which allows to create/generate custom promocodes, not to use the ones that is possible to require to Google for paid apps. I think this could be a useful service for developers.
As an example, you can create a free app where features and functionalities are unlocked using promocodes (suppose permanently using specific promocodes that you give to a blog reviewer for example so he can have a full app at no cost, or just temporary unlocked as a trial period for common users). When the user decide to buy the paid-version of the app, he can still buy the paid-version from the PlayStore or permanently unlock the free version, directly from the app using IAP apis.
I think that it could help engage more users, also in games apps where user buys virtual goods, because you could post special promocodes on blogs or somewhere else, to give them free goods so to let them be interested in having a look at your blog or somewhere else where you can drive a different way to promote your apps (tips and tricks, promote other apps and so on...).
Do you think it could be a useful service? Would you use it?
Please, leave me a feedback, even a short one but i'd really like to see what people thinks about it.
Thanks in advance
Hello there!
Let's say I'm developing a web app targeting a specific group of people. I know their goals, their interests and their needs. I want to upsell them relevant services, products and apps, with entire experience natively integrated in my app interface.
So I need reliable mobile ad networks providing JavaScript or some kind of REST API, so I could just request product image, advertising text and referral link, and then mind my own business at displaying them inside the app correctly, without any need to install jar plugins and registering mediators. And then be payed by CPI/CPA.
Any idea what networks are the best in that regard?
(I'm using Intel XDK btw)
Vincent Pride said:
Hello there!
Let's say I'm developing a web app targeting a specific group of people. I know their goals, their interests and their needs. I want to upsell them relevant services, products and apps, with entire experience natively integrated in my app interface.
So I need reliable mobile ad networks providing JavaScript or some kind of REST API, so I could just request product image, advertising text and referral link, and then mind my own business at displaying them inside the app correctly, without any need to install jar plugins and registering mediators. And then be payed by CPI/CPA.
Any idea what networks are the best in that regard?
(I'm using Intel XDK btw)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you just put google adsense ads? i've been wondering what is wrong with doing that?
Curious to see what the answer for this as well, have definitely seen this question pop up a few times.
Adxmi use API integration
global ads network Adxmi use API integration.
API integration available
I got API integration as I wanted from Adcash. Guess API is most common choice, at least in my comm. circle
Please take a look at Hyper native ads API for app developers.
Our solution will cover your needs for sure.