Firefox OS To Outdo Android On Granular Application Permissions

Future versions of the Firefox OS mobile platform will allow users to control application-specific permissions, a feature with both privacy and security benefits that’s missing on Android.  Firefox OS 2.1, whose code is expected to be completed in November, will have a new option under its developer settings called Verbose App Permissions that will allow users to tweak permissions per application, according to Mozilla security engineer Frederik Braun.  “The typical list in the Settings app will then show you all the permissions an app has and allows you to set them to Allow, Prompt or Deny,” Braun said Sunday in a blog post.

The feature will work for apps obtained from the Firefox Marketplace, but not for built-in apps that are shipped with Firefox OS phones by default.  Using the feature is not without risk, as some apps might stop functioning properly if they are not designed to cope with permission failures.  Unless the developer has created an error handler, “the app might be indefinitely stuck in a waiting state,” Braun said.

Apple’s iOS has had granular application permission control for years, but Android lacks this feature. That deficiency has drawn criticism from privacy and security experts.  Android users are asked to grant all permissions requested by an app at installation time. If they decline, the application is not installed. If they agree, there is no way to later revoke only specific permissions for that app...