Here’s why Facebook Messenger wants your permission to take pictures and videos

Facebook explains why its standalone app, Messenger, is requesting permission to access features on your Android smartphone and tablet.

Facebook received backlash when users, especially those who are concerned about privacy, noticed that its Messenger app is requesting permission to access features on an Android smartphone or tablet. One of those requests is the permission to take pictures and videos, and record audio.

According to the social media giant, the permissions are used to make sure the app’s features run well.

“Almost all apps need certain permissions to run on Android, and we use these permissions to run features in the app. Keep in mind that Android controls the way the permissions are named, and the way they’re named doesn’t necessarily reflect the way the Messenger app and other apps use them.”

Below is the list of some of the permissions that Facebook requests for the app and examples on how they use each one:

• Take pictures and videos: This permission allows you to take photos and videos within the Messenger app to easily send to your friends and other contacts

• Record audio: This permission allows you to send voice messages, make free voice calls, and send videos within Messenger

• Directly call phone numbers: This permission allows you to call a Messenger contact by tapping on the person’s phone number, found in a menu within your message thread with the person

• Receive text messages (SMS): If you add a phone number to your Messenger account, this allows you to confirm your phone number by finding the confirmation code that we send via text message

• Read your contacts: This permission allows you to add your phone contacts as Messenger contacts if you choose to do so. You can always stop syncing your phone contacts by going to your Messenger settings

We experimented with the permissions on the Messenger app on our Android smartphone to see how it would impact usability if we decline some of it. We declined permissions to take pictures and videos and the result is that the app crashes every time you take a photo directly from the app. We gave back the permission and the feature worked as advertised.

Hit the source link below for more details on the app’s permissions and how Facebook uses them.

{source}