patrick.net

Hundreds of Android flashlight apps are requesting a large number of permissions on every install, and in the vast majority of cases, without providing the needed functionality in return.

Avast Security Evangelist Luis Corrons said he tested all the Android flashlight apps that were ever uploaded on the Play Store. In total, he found 937 apps, seven of which were downright malicious.

Of the rest, Corrons said, the vast majority requested a large number of permissions, with the average being of 25 permissions per app.

The number seems small, but it's actually pretty big. Flashlight apps don't need so many permissions. They aren't even needed anymore by the vast majority of Android users, let alone be justified to ask for more than a couple of permissions.

Flashlight apps were all in the rage in Android's early days, when developers figured out they could convert a phone's camera blitz into an always-on flashlight. However, since 2014, Android 5 (Lollipop) comes with a built-in flashlight feature.