I'm not sure it's all out of your control. I'm a novice at phone apps and permissions but some short research has defined several types of permissions apps ask for and why:
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/permissions/overview
I too have a Samsung Galaxy and recently noticed my Samsung Health app quit working. I used it to track my walking information which had some good details. I opened the app to see what was wrong, it asked to be updated and asked for phone permissions. That threw me so I left it alone. But after some reading I came across this:
http://r1.community.samsung.com/t5/samsung-health/why-does-samsung-health-have-to-quot-manage-my-phone-calls-quot/td-p/10043717/page/2
My wife and I both have Samsung Galaxy watches too. Instead of tossing both phones and watches, it appears you can grant access (see the above link) to upgrade and then remove the permission by going to Settings, Apps and Permissions. Just turn the permission off. If you still feel uncomfortable, delete the app.
The link also describes how when you upgrade this way the phone's IMEI (someone help?) sends a snapshot of your history for marketing purposes? I recall my Samsung Health app had ads running on it as a lot of other apps do.
I would think firmware upgrades are required for app interaction and security which sounds like an oxymoron at this point. Again, someone else may help out here.
For replacement apps other than Samsung Galaxy Store (which I rarely use) there is always the Google Play Store for all Androids.
Thoughts?
Ps ~ I think I will update my Samsung Health app in a bit and see what's cooking underneath. Will disable any phone permissions after and see what happens next. keep you posted. |
