Android: I don't need your permission
I recently got a Moto E as my first smart phone, ever, and after checking out some apps, I was astounded and befuddled by the access permissions that it seems every app needs.<p>Take ESPN's fantasy football app, which requires:
device and app history - whats apps are running, browsing history, bookmarks
identity - accounts on the device, profile data
photo/media/files - access to files on the device and the device's external storage
wi-fi connection information - whether wi-fi is enabled, names of connected wi-fi devices
device ID and call information - determine the phone number and device IDs, whether a call is active, and the remote number connected by a call<p>I can understand why it might need access to the file system to, for example, upload an avatar.  The access to wi-fi seems innocuous, although I would expect something like network connectivity and status to be delegated to a kernel module or background daemon with which an app interfaces.<p>But is there any legitimate (i.e. some non-financial oriented mine as much data as possible) reason it needs to be able to see what other apps are running, my browser history or who is on the other end of a call?  There might not be any reason, and ESPN could potentially build the app to have as many or as few permissions as they deem valuable, because people want an app to manage fantasy football teams first.  While this example might not be the best, since ESPN is a huge brand and there is no alternative if they are hosting your league, the situation was the same with so many other apps; just absurd permission requirements.<p>None were installed.