.@Sling TV do you really need access to my photos so I can watch TV?

the case for user control by permission

Usually when Android asks me specifically to update an app, it’s because some permissions have changed. I remember when the to-do list app, Trello, asked for access to my photos. I shrugged and figured it was so that a user could upload a photo to a Trello card. About a week ago Google asked me to approve Sling TV access to my photos. Sling TV provides a way to watch TV online. As someone who uses Sling TV daily, I was surprised to see they wanted access to my photos.

I sent out this tweet

Sling Support said they would look into it… nothing. I sent a few more tweets, still nothing. Sling TV has shown zero accountability to their customers.

Originally I was just curious, why does an app that streams TV require access to photos? This happened once with Spotify when, with no warning and no explanation, they started requiring access to photos. There was a backlash and eventually they responded, saying it was going to allow for uploading custom playlist art. Only after they were forced to did they decide to inform their users why they wanted access to the users’ photos.

Here is the larger point. In a perfect world, I could just opt out of a feature which would require access to photos. Ideally when shown the permission screen, the user should be shown what permissions are being requested with the associated feature, most importantly with an option to opt-out. For instance with Spotify, I could just simply opt-out of that feature that allows for uploading custom art. With an app like Uber, clearly you need to allow “location” in order to operate, this could be considered a “core” permission. But apps like Spotify and SlingTV, which can provide their core features without access to my photos, why should I be forced to share my photos just so that a small percentage of people can upload a photo? The onus would be on the app to decide if they even want to offer an “optional” permission.

This could be just for select features, ones where the app can still provide its core features, without interruption. I can decide who I get push notifications from, so why can’t I also decide who gets access to my photos, without having to reject the app completely. Google Inbox so I can attach photos to email? Yes definitely. Spotify so I can upload custom art? No thanks. Just inform me of the consequences.

Access should not be an all or nothing proposition. And I shouldn’t have to share my photos just to watch TV.

As pointed out in Thomas Berends’ comment: Starting Android 6.0, there is a better permission model. If the developer implemented this and you have Android 6.0 or higher, you get asked whenever the app needs the feature. You can also remove permissions afterwards from Settings.

Sling TV Support Response: @mikepland In regards to your inquiry, the user is prompted for this permission because the AP stores log files on external storage. *MD