Originally Posted by
AAClubGeek
Just because a particular permission allows certain access does not mean that the app uses/abuses everything the permission grants. Most apps have access to the phone state and identity so that they can respond appropriately if a call comes in while the app is open.
It is certainly possible that they request/use permissions for nefarious purposes, but it is more likely that they are just requesting the access that they need to ensure that the app functions properly. Reading the phone state and being able to interact with other open apps is fairly standard.
Interesting, but still skeptical. The OS handles incoming phone calls, so the app doesn't need to know anything about it.
Your comment made me check the permissions of the only other airline app I have installed, the one from BA. Turns out that it works just fine with two simple permissions: network access and control vibration. Nothing about knowing my phone number, what other apps I use, where I am located, what networks I am connected to and I can see.
So call me cynical, but I can't see why the AA app wouldn't work just like the BA app does without them -- if AA requests the permission to know all of this other unrelated stuff about me, it's not because they are NEEDED to run the app.
Creepy.