Re: Making default permissions on Android more restrictive

[Jean Louis]

* Stefan Kangas <stefankangas@gmail.com> [2023-09-13 15:10]:
> [I couldn't find any previous discussion about this.]
> 
> 1.
> 
> a) I don't see why Emacs should be asking for these permissions on
>    Android 5.1 and earlier:
> 
>     RECORD_AUDIO
>     CAMERA
>     ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
>     REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES
>     REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES
>     READ_SMS
>     RECEIVE_SMS
>     SEND_SMS
>     WRITE_SMS
>     RECEIVE_MMS
>     READ_CONTACTS
>     WRITE_CONTACTS

I hope to see Emacs being able to do use all of the permissions on Android. 

> Are there any technical reasons why we need the above permissions?  If
> not, can we remove them, at least the ones in category (a) and (b)?

Emacs has Emacs Lisp, I use it for running programs and Emacs on
Android will hopefully get functions to use above permissions.

1. RECORD_AUDIO: Emacs could use this permission to enable voice commands or 
voice-controlled editing features within the editor.

2. CAMERA: Emacs could utilize the camera permission for functionalities such 
as capturing and inserting images directly into documents, visual recognition 
features, or scanning QR codes.

3. ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION: Emacs could leverage this permission to provide 
location-based information or contextual features, such as displaying weather 
information or adjusting settings based on the user's location.

4. REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES: Emacs may need this permission to facilitate the 
installation of additional packages or plugins from external sources to enhance 
its functionality.

5. REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES: This permission could be used by Emacs to uninstall 
packages or plugins when requested by the user.

6. READ_SMS, RECEIVE_SMS, SEND_SMS, WRITE_SMS, RECEIVE_MMS: Emacs could utilize 
these permissions to integrate SMS or MMS-based features, such as sending code 
snippets via SMS, receiving notifications or alerts through SMS, or extracting 
relevant information from received messages.

7. READ_CONTACTS, WRITE_CONTACTS: Emacs could use these permissions to access 
and modify the user's contact information, enabling features like autocomplete 
or inserting contact details into documents.

>     NFC
>     TRANSMIT_IR

1. NFC: Emacs could use the NFC permission to interact with Near Field 
Communication (NFC) tags or devices. For example, Emacs could read data from 
NFC tags containing programming instructions or use NFC for authentication 
purposes.

2. TRANSMIT_IR: Emacs could utilize the TRANSMIT_IR permission to control 
infrared (IR) devices. This could include using Emacs as a remote control for 
TVs, air conditioners, or other IR-enabled devices directly from within the 
editor.


-- 
Jean

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