*** UPDATED x1 *** I really wish this worked
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
People heading to the Illinois State Fair when it opens next week may want to download a new mobile phone app.
State fair manager Kevin Gordon announced the application Tuesday in a news release. The free app gives fairgoers access to deals and discounts on the fairgrounds and the ability to buy tickets to concerts and other events.
It will take users on a self-guided tour of agriculture destinations on the fairgrounds.
The app includes tools such as a food finder, a daily schedule of events and a list of all the winners from competitions held at the fair.
Trouble is, I couldn’t get the app to work on my Android phone yesterday. The app asked for permission to access “photos, media and files” on my phone, and when I denied the permission, the app wouldn’t load.
* This morning, I tried clicking on the app again and was told I needed to “accept the next two alerts.” I touched “OK” and received this message…
Unfortunately we are not able to get the latest information for your fair app. Please enable local storage under settings to use your 2016 Fair App.
* So, I uninstalled it and tried again and received the same message. Sorry, but I don’t grant that sort of permission unless I’m assured the app company isn’t gonna be poking around my phone.
Am I just being paranoid? Any experts out there?
*** UPDATE *** From an e-mail…
Hi Rich!
I understand you have some concerns about the new Illinois State Fair Mobile App.
The Department does not have the ability to collect a user’s personally identifiable information via the mobile app, nor does the developer Grandstand Apps.
Upon download, android users will be asked for permission to access certain files such as photos.
The app needs these files to properly function. For example, the photo booth needs to be able to access the pictures taken by your phone to be able to utilize the eight special photo filters. Similarly, permissions are needed to be able to post said pictures to the user’s social media account.
The intent of this app is to help the fairgoer personalize his/her experience at the Illinois State Fair.
The alert prompted by Android only impacts those with an Android phone 6.0 or newer. This does not impact Apple users, as the features are already built into security permissions when the app is downloaded.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I would be happy to answer them!!!
Rebecca Clark
Communications Manager
Illinois Department of Agriculture
Thoughts?
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:42 am:
You are rightfully wary. I would not allow it either. There should be no need to access your files.
- Blue Dog - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:44 am:
Sounds like the developer didn’t take into account permission access. My guess would be they want photo access so you can upload fair photos thru the app, but they coded it throughout other processes instead of limiting it to the upload process.
You’re not being paranoid. Overreach on permissions is a sign of a poorly designed app. I would’ve done the same thing.
They should’ve included social media links to encourage you to upload photos (letting those apps handle the permission) instead of trying their own uploader.
- JoanP - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:45 am:
I don’t think you’re paranoid. I can think of no reason whatsoever that they would need to access your “photos, media and files”.
- Lost in Translation - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:45 am:
Why does the State Fair need access to your files/photos/contacts? I wouldn’t install it either.
- Winnin' - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:47 am:
They probably want copies of your “fun” pics at the fair so they can be posted for marketing purposes. The other stuff they want…one can only surmise…
I sure would be paranoid too.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:48 am:
Sandack gave the Fair app permission and look what happened to him.
- Winnin' - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:48 am:
Big Brother wants access to your phone. But, it must be ok if it’s in the name of “Agriculture “.
- Give Me A Break - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:50 am:
Rich I don’t blame you for not allowing them access to your phone’s pics and files. I saw this morning on my iphone app store the state fair app. was updated in the last 24 hours so maybe they fixed the issue and it will work for you now.
- Curious - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:51 am:
Legit question: Who would own the data? The app company? The state fair? Illinois?
- chi - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:51 am:
Funny, I heard Rauner personally invited Roberta Lynch to the fair and highly recommended the new app.
- Lobo Y Olla - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:51 am:
There should be no need to access your files.
Almost every app on your phone will have that exact same language in it. (Read your privacy policy on any app: FB Chase You Tube all have this language.) This kind of “over permission” fear has been addressed on FB many times. Its not nefarious… its just how the system works. It’s a case of “too much” transparency causing alarm. If its obtained from an official app store, its at the very least signed by a trusted developer.
None of the above applies if you download from an un-official app store like Clyda.
- TrumpsSmallHands - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:52 am:
My guess is that their process for delivering discounts is just sloppy. Instead of generating a QR code in the app, the app probably reaches out to a QR code generating service and then needs to save the results to your phone as an image. So they need access to your “photos, media and files” to display the coupons.
My guess is probably incompetence rather than actual malicious intent.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:55 am:
Gov. Rauner welcomes you to Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair and reminds you to download the handy State Fair app.
- Anon - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:55 am:
It’s always good to be wary. I’ll admit I was tempted to physically remove the microphone from my phone thanks to Ed Snowden.
But — with regard to the permissions for the app, that is somewhat standard protocol and can be completely innocuous.
For example if you were to buy a ticket and the app allowed a copy of that ticket to be saved to the phone, most of those local storage options would be required.
If the app has a photo feature that allows you to take pictures of the state fair or share photos from the state fair, those permissions would also be required.
So - it’s not completely suspicious.
- downstate commissioner - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 9:59 am:
Rich, when I first read this, there were no comments: thanks for asking the question, as I probably wouldn’t have allowed them the permissions they requested. Your bloggers have already allayed my fears, but will wait a bit to see if you hear any more…
- MSIX - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:04 am:
=Sandack gave the Fair app permission and look what happened to him.=
LOL!
- Jackie - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:08 am:
Now I’m in the mood to listen to Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android”
- cdog - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:08 am:
apps are for suckers in this non-existent regulatory environment. /.5s
- Dr X - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:09 am:
I can see it now. You are strollin’ by the butter cow, lookin’ with admiration at the artistic milk marvel when your phone buzzes with a text.
What this? A text remindin’ you that the butter artist will not get paid cuz Madigan won’t pass workman’s comp. You head over to the hog show and get a text that the poor kids won’t be gettin’ their ribbon premimums cuz Madigan won’t let voters vote on term limits.
That is the future of your app.
- LizPhairTax - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:18 am:
I saw it on Google Earth. You mean the SkyGlide? The Fair is the least app-requiring event going. Self-guided tours? You mean walking around?
- Sir Reel - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:19 am:
Richard, you don’t need a food finder app. You can find food by smell or by following the grease stains on the sidewalks.
- Anon - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:21 am:
Sir, have you never downloaded an App on your phone? Honest question. That’s pretty standard. And if you’re worried about the government or whoever monitoring you, they already do, so a State Fair app isn’t all of a sudden open the floodgates for that. Download the app or don’t download the app, that’s up to you, but if you want it, that permission is required, just as it would be for a facebook app and countless other other apps. So yes, you are being a bit paranoid, but no one is making you download it. Just sayin…
- thechampaignlife - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:34 am:
You don’t have a burner phone for sketchy uses?
- Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:35 am:
Rich, you are being prudent.
- cdog - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:52 am:
at 9:55
“I’ll admit I was tempted to physically remove the microphone from my phone…”
think about that for a minute. :0
- downstate commissioner - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 10:57 am:
cdog@10;52: it took me a couple of minutes…LOL!!!
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 11:04 am:
Shoulda stuck with Apple, their apps always work. /s
- A guy - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 11:29 am:
These requests have become so standard, and so many people simply click and move on with the app. I doubt there’s anything sinister going on, but like you, I have an aversion to anyone or anything asking for additional access. I just go without. Am I missing something? Maybe. Do I care? Not at all.
- Not It - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 11:29 am:
It is a standard permission for most apps. I would think at a minimum the GPS permission would be important, and there is probably a social media component that would need to link to your pictures. The app was probably designed by a millennial who has different trust issues with their phone than you do.
- m - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 11:37 am:
Those are standard permissions as others have said. The problem is Android being transparent about what all the apps have permissions for. It may not even need them though, could be the app was built from a template for another. The state fair app is the least of your worries.
- @MisterJayEm - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 11:41 am:
“Am I just being paranoid?”
This article explores the risks of over-broad app permissions/privacy policies in the context of Pokemon Go: https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/heres-all-the-data-pokemon-go-is-collecting-from-your-phone
The over-broad category of “files” includes include files recording mobile web-browsing (”Give me a list of everyone who’s been to Capitol Fax, and a list of everyone who’s posted on Capitol Fax.”) and social media data stored on your phone (”Now cross check those first lists against any social media identifiers.”)
Those spreadsheet/data base stunts are incredibly simple — the difficult part is getting access to the raw, personalized data.
And over-broad app permissions grant exactly that access to the personal info on your phone.
This broad access to your private info is coupled with pants-down privacy policies that permit the app company to share that information with their “partners” who are defined as “pretty much anybody to whom we chose to sell your private data.”
Such data has been purchased in ‘anonymized’ form for years. The ability to ‘de-anonymize’ such data — a simple method is to match your time-stamped web cookies with your phone’s hardware/software specifics, and then assign that unique pairing a unique identifier — has also been around for years.
To my knowledge, this has never been an issue with campaigns to date — primarily because campaigns are conducted with limited resources and the limited goal of winning an election. But campaigns and secretive PACs with much loftier goals and bottomless budgets? Who knows.
“Am I just being paranoid?”
Nope.
– MrJM
- Beeker - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 12:39 pm:
It’s bad design to ask for permission unless and until you need it. Lest you freak people out. The government watches, sure, but look how dysfunctional they are as a whole. Whatever they’re collecting is an absolute mess anyway. Hackers who back door such apps or the databases those apps feed are more dangerous.
- Huh? - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 3:08 pm:
Depending on your smart phone setup, you can turn off permissions. However, this may cripple the functionality of the app.
One thing I do is delete apps that I don’t use regularly or use for a short time and specific task.
- Annonin' - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 3:23 pm:
Let us know if there are any beer tent bargains or discount “cyber attacks”
- Nobody - Wednesday, Aug 3, 16 @ 4:36 pm:
Snooze. Ag wouldn’t know what to do with anyone’s info, even if they knew how to get it. As to whether this creates a backdoor for hackers, yea maybe that’s a concern.