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Apps are updating without my permission

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  Apps are updating without my permission "Danny D." <dannydiamico@yahoo.com> - 2016-08-29 03:17 +0000
    Re: Apps are updating without my permission nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> - 2016-08-28 23:51 -0400
    Re: Apps are updating without my permission Timreason <timreason@hotmail.co.uk> - 2016-08-29 09:02 +0100
      Re: Apps are updating without my permission "Danny D." <dannydiamico@yahoo.com> - 2016-08-29 15:46 -0700
        Re: Apps are updating without my permission Piet <www.godfatherof.nl/@opt-in.invalid> - 2016-09-01 10:34 +0200
          Re: Apps are updating without my permission "Danny D." <dannydiamico@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-01 18:27 +0000
            Re: Apps are updating without my permission Timreason <timreason@hotmail.co.uk> - 2016-09-02 00:10 +0100
              Re: Apps are updating without my permission Piet <www.godfatherof.nl/@opt-in.invalid> - 2016-09-02 09:27 +0200
                Re: Apps are updating without my permission AL <noemail@none.com> - 2016-09-02 09:04 -0700
                  Re: Apps are updating without my permission "Danny D." <dannydiamico@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-03 07:26 +0000
                  Re: Apps are updating without my permission Piet <www.godfatherof.nl/@opt-in.invalid> - 2016-09-03 09:55 +0200
                    Re: Apps are updating without my permission AL <noemail@none.invalid.com> - 2016-09-03 01:13 -0700
                    Re: Apps are updating without my permission Daniel James <daniel@me.invalid> - 2016-09-05 16:53 +0100
                      Re: Apps are updating without my permission Piet <www.godfatherof.nl/@opt-in.invalid> - 2016-09-08 11:39 +0200
                Re: Apps are updating without my permission "Danny D." <dannydiamico@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-03 07:26 +0000

#33700 — Apps are updating without my permission

Is there a global Android (4.x) setting to tell all apps NOT to update?

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#33701

In article <nq09f8$1ip$1@news.mixmin.net>, Danny D.
<dannydiamico@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Is there a global Android (4.x) setting to tell all apps NOT to update?

turn off auto update in the play store.

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#33705

On 29/08/2016 04:17, Danny D. wrote:
> Is there a global Android (4.x) setting to tell all apps NOT to update?
>

It isn't done in Android settings. It is a setting in Google Play store.
You can set it to notify you when updates are available. That leaves you 
free to decide when, and whether, to update your apps.

Tim.

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#33710

On Mon, 29 Aug 2016 09:02:00 +0100, Timreason wrote:

> It isn't done in Android settings. It is a setting in Google Play store.
> You can set it to notify you when updates are available. That leaves you 
> free to decide when, and whether, to update your apps.
> 
> Tim.

Thanks for explaining that as I didn't even think it was in Google Play 
itself.

Thanks to you and nospam, I found it in the Google Play settings which had 
three options.

1. Do not auto-update apps
2. Auto-update apps at any time
3. Auto-update apps over WiFi only

There was also the setting you mentioned for
4. Notify me when app updates are available
5. Notify me when apps are automatically updated

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#33739

Danny D. wrote:
> I found it in the Google Play settings which had three options.
> 
> 1. Do not auto-update apps
> 2. Auto-update apps at any time
> 3. Auto-update apps over WiFi only

There's a fourth, non-obvious option. Even when you've chosen
2 or 3, you can disable auto-update for each individual app.
- Go to My apps
- Tick on an app
- Tick the 3-dot menu at upper right
You'll see auto-update, selected by default; deselect if you
don't want that app to be auto-updated.

-p

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#33744

On Thu, 1 Sep 2016 10:34:53 +0200, Piet wrote:

> There's a fourth, non-obvious option. Even when you've chosen
> 2 or 3, you can disable auto-update for each individual app.
> - Go to My apps
> - Tick on an app
> - Tick the 3-dot menu at upper right
> You'll see auto-update, selected by default; deselect if you
> don't want that app to be auto-updated.

Good to know! Thanks!

In general, I find updates to make the app *worse* over time, so I avoid
updates (and I automatically save all the APKs anyway with app backup and
restore).

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#33751

On 01/09/2016 19:27, Danny D. wrote:
> On Thu, 1 Sep 2016 10:34:53 +0200, Piet wrote:
>
>> There's a fourth, non-obvious option. Even when you've chosen
>> 2 or 3, you can disable auto-update for each individual app.
>> - Go to My apps
>> - Tick on an app
>> - Tick the 3-dot menu at upper right
>> You'll see auto-update, selected by default; deselect if you
>> don't want that app to be auto-updated.
>
> Good to know! Thanks!
>
> In general, I find updates to make the app *worse* over time, so I avoid
> updates (and I automatically save all the APKs anyway with app backup and
> restore).
>

Sometimes, and for some reason I don't understand, it can be better to 
completely uninstall the app, then reinstall it, rather than update. I 
had to do this today with BBC iPlayer.

Tim.

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#33758

Timreason wrote:
> Danny D. wrote:
>> Piet wrote:
>>> There's a fourth, non-obvious option. Even when you've chosen
>>> 2 or 3, you can disable auto-update for each individual app.
>>> - Go to My apps
>>> - Tick on an app
>>> - Tick the 3-dot menu at upper right
>>> You'll see auto-update, selected by default; deselect if you
>>> don't want that app to be auto-updated.
>>
>> Good to know! Thanks!
>>
>> In general, I find updates to make the app *worse* over time,
>> so I avoid updates (and I automatically save all the APKs
>> anyway with app backup and restore).
> 
> Sometimes, and for some reason I don't understand, it can be
> better to completely uninstall the app, then reinstall it,
> rather than update. I had to do this today with BBC iPlayer.

Indeed many apps get worse with upgrades. In particular there
is a tendency to require more permissions that you don't want
to give them. If you can see that beforehand, you can exclude
such an app from the automatic updates.

However, if you uninstall and re-install an app, you're always
condemned to the latest version.

This is probably one of the biggest - if not the biggest -
drawback of app stores: with 'normal' software you often can
find/download official older versions, app stores don't offer
that possibility. And second sources - if available - can't
really be trusted.

-p

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#33770

Piet wrote:

> Indeed many apps get worse with upgrades. In particular there
> is a tendency to require more permissions that you don't want
> to give them. If you can see that beforehand, you can exclude
> such an app from the automatic updates.

I exclude all apps from automatic updates. That way if I 
want to update I save the old app version apk first just in 
case I want to go back.

BTW when you upgrade to Marshmallow it allows you to deny 
individual permissions to apps. Because of that I now use 
some apps I had not considered before.

> However, if you uninstall and re-install an app, you're always
> condemned to the latest version.

By saving my old versions I am not so condemned. Course old 
app versions sometimes break when used with newer OS 
upgrades, but in my case most going back to 2.x haven't. YMMV.

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#33798

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 09:04:25 -0700, AL wrote:

> I exclude all apps from automatic updates. That way if I 
> want to update I save the old app version apk first just in 
> case I want to go back.

I also exclude all apps from automatic updates (thanks to you guys letting
me know the settings).

There is another option though, which is to automatically backup all APKs
and make sure the setting does NOT overwrite older version APKs.

I use mobi.infolife.appbackup for that.

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#33813

AL wrote:
> BTW when you upgrade to Marshmallow it allows you to deny 
> individual permissions to apps.

I know, I'm running Marshmallow. But does it work?

I have one app (9292, public transportation). It's in Dutch,
but that can't be the problem ;-)).
It requires premission to access location and contacts. The
latter I don't want, so I've denied that.
Now, in the app I can choose a destination address from the
contacts. Given the denial I would expect that not to work,
but look and behold, it gives all my contacts exactly as if
I were using the Contacts app.

Which makes me wonder:
- Does the individual denial not work?
- Or am I bypassing the denial by manually and explictly
  starting the Contacts app from within the 9292 app?

-p

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#33814

On 9/3/2016 12:55 AM, Piet wrote:
> AL wrote:
>> BTW when you upgrade to Marshmallow it allows you to deny
>> individual permissions to apps.
>
> I know, I'm running Marshmallow. But does it work?
>
> I have one app (9292, public transportation). It's in Dutch,
> but that can't be the problem ;-)).
> It requires premission to access location and contacts. The
> latter I don't want, so I've denied that.
> Now, in the app I can choose a destination address from the
> contacts. Given the denial I would expect that not to work,
> but look and behold, it gives all my contacts exactly as if
> I were using the Contacts app.
>
> Which makes me wonder:
> - Does the individual denial not work?
> - Or am I bypassing the denial by manually and explictly
>   starting the Contacts app from within the 9292 app?

Not sure. So far in my experience when an app needs a permission that I 
have turned off I get a pop up window asking permission to use that 
permission.

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#33894

In article <nqdvm6$keq$1@gioia.aioe.org>, Piet wrote:
> I have one app (9292, public transportation). It's in Dutch,
> but that can't be the problem ;-)).
> It requires premission to access location and contacts. The
> latter I don't want, so I've denied that.
> Now, in the app I can choose a destination address from the
> contacts. Given the denial I would expect that not to work,
> but look and behold, it gives all my contacts exactly as if
> I were using the Contacts app.

I'm not sure ... I have no device for which a Marshmallow update 
exists.

However: There are two ways for an app to access your contacts. One is 
to access the contacts directly, the other is to invoke the contacts 
app and ask it for a contact. Denying an app access to your contacts 
does NOT prevent it from invoking the contacts app. You then have the 
option of allowing the contacts app to pass the details of a single 
contact back to the calling app, or of closing the app without 
selecting a contact.

> Which makes me wonder:
> - Does the individual denial not work?
> - Or am I bypassing the denial by manually and explictly
>   starting the Contacts app from within the 9292 app?

Probably the latter. As I understand it that's what an app is supposed 
to do under Marshmallow if it wants to get a contact but isn't allowed 
to access the contacts directly.

In fact, most of the programming guides for earlier versions of Android 
recommend getting a contact in this way, but many apps ignore the 
advice.

-- 
Cheers,
 Daniel.
 

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#34028

Daniel James wrote:
> Piet wrote:
>> I have one app (9292, public transportation). It's in Dutch,
>> but that can't be the problem ;-)).
>> It requires premission to access location and contacts. The
>> latter I don't want, so I've denied that.
>> Now, in the app I can choose a destination address from the
>> contacts. Given the denial I would expect that not to work,
>> but look and behold, it gives all my contacts exactly as if
>> I were using the Contacts app.
> 
> There are two ways for an app to access your contacts. One is 
> to access the contacts directly, the other is to invoke the
> contacts app and ask it for a contact. Denying an app access
> to your contacts does NOT prevent it from invoking the contacts
> app. You then have the option of allowing the contacts app to
> pass the details of a single contact back to the calling app,
> or of closing the app without selecting a contact.

Thanks. That explains the look & feel of what happens. Invoking
the contacts app *by explicit user action* and letting him/her
select a specific contact to use prevents the calling app from
copying all contacts directly, otherwise it would be a gaping
security hole.

-p

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#33799

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 09:27:05 +0200, Piet wrote:

> Indeed many apps get worse with upgrades. In particular there
> is a tendency to require more permissions that you don't want
> to give them. If you can see that beforehand, you can exclude
> such an app from the automatic updates.
> 
> However, if you uninstall and re-install an app, you're always
> condemned to the latest version.
> 
> This is probably one of the biggest - if not the biggest -
> drawback of app stores: with 'normal' software you often can
> find/download official older versions, app stores don't offer
> that possibility. And second sources - if available - can't
> really be trusted.

I agree with everything you said above.
It's a royal mess.

There is a workaround though.

1. Use any free app backup utility that will backup the old APKs and set it
to back up *every* APK (and not overwrite upon upgrade).

2. Use any free after-the-fact permission manager to set permissions
individually (e.g., why would a flashlight need *any* permissions!)

The app backup & restore utility I use is mobi.infolife.appbackup and the
permission manager I use is com.schurich.android.tools.appopsstarter

In addition, I use a free file redirector to keep the file system clean and
to move automatically all files I care about to the sd card under a
well-organized hierarchy (which is something Android developers don't know
a thing about).

The free file redirector I use is com.tobino.redirectsfree (be careful,
there are a ton of lousy free file redirectors; this one is the only good
one I can find).

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