Application settings?
The adoption of Flatpak means that we have additional application permission settings that we need to expose. This includes things like microphone and camera access, as well as access to specific USB devices. The list could grow in the future, to include things like access to contacts and calendar data.
We need to decide whether to add new permissions to the Privacy panel, add them to a new Applications panel, or add them to both.
The reason I'm creating this issue is that I'm a bit uncertain about the use cases involved, and what the approach taken by other platforms is. It would be great if we could collect this information here, and discuss the issue more generally.
Use cases
- Someone has granted location permission to an app by accident, and wants to revert the decision
- Someone becomes concerned about which apps have access to their location, and wants to review access to this data
- Someone becomes concerned about privacy in general, and wants to review all their permissions and apps, in order to reduce access wherever it seems unnecessary
Relevant art
More detailed material can be found on the design page. Here I want to survey the approach of each platform.
Platform | Approach |
---|---|
Windows | |
Mac | |
Android | App permissions are listed under Apps & Notifications; you can also get to some permissions through other sections, for example: Security & Location → Location → App-level permissions. |
iOS | Top level application section includes app permissions. There's also per-permission listings, such as Privacy → Location Services. |