Privacy News The Facebook Android App Is Asking for Superuser Privileges and Users Are Freaking Out

LASER_oneXM

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Feb 4, 2016
2,520
BREAKING —The Facebook Android app is asking for superuser permissions, and a bunch of users are freaking out about granting the Facebook app full access to their device, an understandable reaction following the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

"Grants full access to your device," read the prompts while asking users for superuser permissions.

Prompts originate from the official Facebook app
These popups originate from the official Facebook Android app (com.facebook.katana)" and are started appearing last night [UTC timezone], continuing throughout the day.

Panicked users took to social media, Reddit, and Android-themed forums to share screengrabs of these suspicious popups and ask for advise or what's going on:

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Most likely a coding error

Several Android security researchers who spoke with Bleeping Computer suspect the popups are appearing because of a coding error.


Avast mobile security researcher Nikolaos Chrysaidos has taken a look at the Facebook app's source code and believes the offending party is an SDK (software development kit) embedded in the Facebook app.


The package that appears to be triggering the superuser popup is the WhiteOps SDK, a software development kit for detecting ad fraud and implementing domain white/black-lists.


"Yes, it could be a coding error. Most possible yes," Chrysaidos told Bleeping Computer in a private conversation today. "The dialog started popping up on users that are in the beta channel."

"Along with other various checks. Facebook is probably integrating WhiteOps SDK, and they forgot to re-implement the ROOT checking functionality," Chrysaidos says.
 
F

ForgottenSeer 58943

'Coding error', the best cover in use today. Facebook is likely in panic mode, so expect them to institute a bunch of sneaky stuff lately.

Remember, anytime they say 'coding error' or 'technical glitch', it's almost always a cover for an intentional thing. For example when researchers discovered Google Dot's were recording EVERYTHING, Google said it was a 'coding error'. When Google Street View camera cars were scooping up WiFi names and checking out open WiFi networks google says it was a 'technical glitch'.

Back when Amazon Echo was used to help solve a murder people asked how would it have recordings from the home if the trigger word wasn't used.. Amazon said 'due to glitches, they can sometimes record conversations in homes'..

Never buy into their assumption everyone suffers from cognitive dissonance and can't see all of this for what it is.
 

MeltdownEnemy

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Jan 25, 2018
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I've an s7 smartphone but I can't to carry it comfortably to any place, because I don't know what they could be doing with my voice or taking the private things that myself doing online (fingerprint behavior tracking), I blame them for several applications that can not be uninstalled (all google suite, facebook, twitter and others) like the backup image from Acer, Dell, HP laptops inside disk and Uefi , the crapware of samsung does what he wants bringing his prefabricated operating system with those sections that are undeleted without root permission. I prefer a thousand times an old brick that only serves to call instead these smart phones.
 
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upnorth

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Jul 27, 2015
5,457
Smartphones made more people and especially many kids dumb IMO as they rather stare into the damn things 24/7 ( using for example Facebook etc ) then look into ones eyes and use there mouth and actually talk to each other how it's supposed to be done or I'm just old. :sleep:

There are ofcourse cases involved with smartphones that works as one great example is the Pokémon GO game that made both grownups and kids move there lazy ass out of the couch/sofa and get some genuine wind and sun or even rain in there face in the hunt for some odd creatures. Brilliant.(y)
 
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F

ForgottenSeer 58943

I've an s7 smartphone but I can't to carry it comfortably to any place, because I don't know what they could be doing with my voice or taking the private things that myself doing online (fingerprint behavior tracking), I blame them for several applications that can not be uninstalled (all google suite, facebook, twitter and others) like the backup image from Acer, Dell, HP laptops inside disk and Uefi , the crapware of samsung does what he wants bringing his prefabricated operating system with those sections that are undeleted without root permission. I prefer a thousand times an old brick that only serves to call instead these smart phones.

Utilize things like this on your phone, they disable the capabilities at the kernal level.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.frenzycoders.microphoneblockerantispyware&hl=en_US

and to keep your cameras disabled unless needed;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ownzordage.chrx.lenscap

My phone is basically approaching the level of being a brick unless I turn specific things on, which I rarely do. Don't make it easy for them!
 

Klappis

Level 1
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Feb 15, 2014
30
Utilize things like this on your phone, they disable the capabilities at the kernal level.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.frenzycoders.microphoneblockerantispyware&hl=en_US

and to keep your cameras disabled unless needed;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ownzordage.chrx.lenscap

My phone is basically approaching the level of being a brick unless I turn specific things on, which I rarely do. Don't make it easy for them!

How do you know those apps themselves aren't spying on you?
 
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