Which OTT Apps Ask Too Many Permissions? A Privacy Analysis
In 2017, the honourable Supreme Court of India hailed the right to privacy as a fundamental right in a unanimous judgment. Since privacy is such an important issue, it is also our duty to be aware of our rights and safeguard ourselves against potential threats to our privacy.
We all know what Facebook did and the consequences it is facing for the data breach of people. So, we have brought a privacy analysis of your Android devices. Here, we list down all the major OTT apps and the permission they require. We will see if they are doing too much.
Netflix India
Notifications
Microphone
Nearby Devices
Prime Video
Notifications
Contacts
Location
Phone
Disney+Hotstar
Location
Notifications
Phone
Photos and Videos
JioCinema
Camera
Location
Microphone
Nearby Devices
Notifications
SonyLIV
Camera
Microphone
Notifications
Phone
Photos and videos
ZEE5
Camera
Location
Microphone
Notifications
Phone
Analysis
Before we begin our analysis, we need to clarify that Notifications is an essential permission for promotions, unless it becomes a volcano of spam.
At first glance, we must appreciate Netflix India. The app demands a microphone for voice search and nearby devices for cast features. However, microphone demand should not be there as Gboard can do the same voice search.
It doesn’t demand location, contacts or media access to run and this is a praiseworthy step. Ideally, this shouldn’t be praiseworthy because this is how all apps are supposed to stream but sometimes the corruption is so much that we need to appreciate things the way they should be running by default.
Prime Video is alright but we don’t understand why an OTT app needs to look at your contacts, phone and location information. It is totally unnecessary in our opinion.
Hotstar also demands for location, phone and media. Why does an OTT app need to check out the photos and videos on your phone? It is creepy.
SonyLIV is next level. They demand camera permission too alongside microphone, media and even phone access. The very idea that an OTT app is accessing your camera is horrifying.
ZEE5 is on the same page. They also demand Camera, microphone, location and phone access for some unknown reasons.
As users, we have the control to deny those permissions but we need to be more aware. New Android versions tend to tell you when your camera and microphone are being used. You should always trust yourself more than these OTT apps because you can never know what they do with your data. Use these apps but never give them any permission which they don’t really need.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
