The truth about Facebooks new Messenger App and its permissions

We’ve been receiving plenty of questions recently about Facebook’s new mobile messenger app that they are pushing out to complement their main mobile app.

The majority of questions centre around the permissions required by the Facebook App to work correctly and how it affects a user’s privacy.

Firstly, it is true that the Facebook Messenger app does appear to require an awful lot of permissions to function and these permissions could worry a number of users, especially considering how they are worded. A list of permissions include…

– Change the state of network connectivity
– Call phone numbers and send SMS messages
– Record audio, and take pictures and videos, at any time
– Read your phone’s call log, including info about incoming and outgoing calls
– Read your contact data, including who you call and email and how often
– Read personal profile information stored on your device
– Access the phone features of the device, like your phone number and device ID
– Get a list of accounts known by the phone, or other apps you use.

The problem is more apparent on the Android platform, which requires a user grant permission for everything an app could potentially do before you install it, whilst iOS requires users grant individuals permissions at the time an app requires it to carry out a specific function.

However, whilst many have been quick to claim Facebook’s Messenger app is overly intrusive and are calling people to avoid it, there is plenty of confusion as to how safe or how intrusive the app actually is. So we explain what it all really means.

The majority of the confusion comes in the way the permissions (above) are worded on the Android platform. What many are not realising is that the alarming language of these permissions is written by the developers of the Android platform (Google) and not Facebook. (The permissions language can depend on what version of Android you are using.)

Android have worded each permission to reflect a worst (i.e. most invasive) case scenario. So for example where it says ” Record audio, and take pictures and videos, at any time” this means that theoretically the app has the ability to do that, however because Android group related permissions and then word the permission language too, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the app would (or indeed want to) do that.

This is a problem facing all third party apps, not just Facebook Messenger, in that they are afforded permissions by Android that they don’t need because the permissions are grouped, and when Android warns the user what the app could potentially do, it sounds much more alarming than it really is.

Some of the permissions requested by Facebook.

In fact the reason why the Facebook Messenger needs permission to access the microphone is so you can place calls to your contacts via the app itself, not because Facebook are planning on nefariously recording you in secret as the language of the permission may suggest.

And because the permission comes from Android, any app that could potentially want access to the microphone of the phone would need the user to accept the very same permission. Alarming language and all.

In fact when you dig a little deeper into each permission, it comes apparent that Facebook Messenger does actually require them for the entire app to function correctly. For example the permission that reads “Read your phone’s call log, including info about incoming and outgoing calls” is so Messenger can save your (for e.g.) messages before an incoming call interrupts the app, NOT so they can spy on your contacts and activity, and the ” Call phone numbers and send SMS messages” permission is so the Messenger app can read a confirmation text to verify a new phone number, NOT so they can call random numbers without the users permission!

More examples here from Facebook directly.

And it’s always worth remembering with Android is that they require you to agree to everything the app could potentially do up front. It does not mean the app will need the permission or access, it depends on how the user interacts with the app.

So yes, the permissions can sound a little scary, but remember they were written by Android and reflect a worst case scenario, not necessarily an accurate reflection on the apps true intentions. A plethora of other apps, like Google, Instagram, WhatsApp and more all require alarming sounding permissions to function correctly.

What Facebook can and cannot do is dicated in their terms of service, not by what permissions are afforded to them by the Android platform, but ultimately the user needs to decide for themselves if they trust the developer of an app – in this case Facebook – to use their information (and their phone) responsibly.

And if the answer is no, then we recommend not installing the app.

Useful tip: No you don’t have to install the Facebook Messenger App to use Facebook on your phone. If you really don’t want to install it you can still use your Internet browser and go to www.m.facebook.com (their mobile version of Facebook) to view Facebook. In fact you probably can just go to www.Facebook.com and be automatically re-directed to the mobile version!

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