Reply To: Messenger App

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Effectively, it is universal permission.

I’m sure they want the permission because the app does photo/voice messaging. But as long as the app is running, it does have access to the camera/mic. Because android/iOS almost never actually close apps you open (they just push the process to the background), once you open the app it will probably remain running for as long as you keep the phone turned on.

What it comes down to is whether or not you trust facebook. Before you answer, recall that facebook is an advertising company, and nothing else.

In any case, I don’t care whether anyone trusts FB or not. In all likelihood, nothing bad will come of this specific issue. But it is a symptom of a bigger problem: no one understands, or even cares, about things like this. It’s a big deal to tie your entire personal life to a computer, and then allow outside parties sweeping access to that same computer.