Tripadvisor app for android - access to camera?
 

I have used the Tripadvisor app for several years. It needs updating on my phone. However, one of the "permissions" concerns me. The update tells me there is a "new" permission, one for "Camera to take pictures and videos". This causes me concern. Why do they need to access the camera? What are they doing with the camera?

The app is inactive until I update - and I'm not updating it until I understand this part of the update.

Hope you all have some suggestions.

I assume so you can share images to their site when you review something...just a thought though

The Android app's description in the Play market explains why it uses the camera: to allow you "to take a picture using your device camera directly."

TripAdvisor App has the function of

Add your own reviews and photos

I'm sure that's the intended reason. But the bothersome thing about apps is that permissions are blanket. If an app has permission to do something it can do it at any time, whether you are aware and want it to or not.

In the case of Tripadvisor I went ahead and updated because I'm not too concerned about it. But there are lots of apps I refuse to install (or update if it was a change in permissions) because of stuff like wanting access to my camera and microphone.

A little too paranoid there - the permissions still need to adhere to the Android API specifications, so it can't just go taking photos on its own without any user interaction. They are definitely not "blanket" permissions.

In many cases, the vendor explains below the app description why it needs permissions.

Pretty sure that it's just needed so you can take pictures on your journey and upload them into the App easily.