Periodic Fables 0

I pay attention to terms of service and licensing agreements (not that I read all of them all the way through). I read the “What This App Wants” when I look for software for my cell phone (and have chosen to forgo some apps as a result). I follow tech news.

I know that the internet is a public place and try to govern myself accordingly. Anything I say here in my little backwater of the inner webs is something I would say among friends on a sidewalk without caring that I could be overheard.

I know that most stuff on the internet that calls itself “free,” at least outside of FLOSS world, isn’t. Especially in smartphone “app” world, a “free” app may want access to your contact list or browsing history, so it can sell your information to spammers marketeers, or to your GPS location (I keep my GPS turned off most of the time) so it can send you ads when you enter a store, and so on.

So, when I saw this story, I couldn’t help wondering what exactly the authors of those apps want.

Whatever it is, I suspect that Miss Grundy would not approve.