Rogue Android apps rack up hidden charges

Oh lordy, ha ha ha

The 'solution' provided by the 'what's needed' comment is complete bollocks frankly.

No app should be allowed to cost you money without you not knowing, home network or not.

Epic failure, rattlement and exposure.

Let me be the first to say

My iPhone wouldnt do that as Apple has a stranglehold on the market and it turns water into wine.

/No I dont have an iPhone

In Today's Lesson, We Learn...

...exactly why Apple has been so scroogish with their application dev.

I'll bet there are some REAL NASTY Android apps waiting in the shadows, with brickbats.

The real problem here is...

...the carriers are still fleecing people for data charges.

With the advent of the iPhone and Android (and all the other 'smartphones around') it's about time the carriers - who punt mobile internet connectivity as if it's a right not a privilege - started making the charging structure so people can just us it without running up large bills.

It's not fair to blame the app developers, nor the platform. If a platform comes out which offers GPS, web connectivity, etc., etc then why not use it? Complaining that it's the app devs fault is a bit like somebody complaining when they installed vista without having broadband and then had to pay for 3 weeks' of constant dial-up connection costs because it had to download 300MB of updates.

@Oh lordy

Regards the solution: Most people have home wifi that doesn't cost anything to use (other than the monthly broadband cost). I guess yours charges for bandwidth?

Unlimited?

Guess it all goes back to the old issue of how unlimited, is unlimited!

<--- another smug iphone owner

there were so many El Reg readers last year saying how horrific it was that Apple were locking down the apps on the iPhone and how it was a human rights violations and all sorts and how Android would show the world the way

funny how none of them have commented on this story to explain why it's still such a good idea to allow apps on the device this kind of control

@How Strange

I've had a Windows app initiate a data connection without notifying me. That's because I wanted an app that would do that. I'd be a bit miffed if I'd bought an iPhone and found that an app which needed to instantiate a connection (e.g., an RSS aggregator) couldn't do so because of some dumb limitation of the OS.

Although the iPhone circumvents the 'shady background apps initiating a connection' by not allowing any apps to run in the background. D'oh.

not every user reads the small print....

If I actually read the agreements of all the software I've ever downloaded/installed, I'd be sitting here reading with a backlog of about 2 years to go.

A tombstone 'cause that's where I'll be by the time I've read them all.

@Matt Bradley

That's really great Matt, don't take your *mobile* phone out of range of your home WiFi in case you get raped by roaming charges. Awesome

Settings

It is true that an app can send network data on its own if you grant it permissions for that. But there is a setting which disables data when roaming:

Settings -> Wireless Controls -> Mobile networks -> Data roaming - Connect to data services when roaming.

This is enabled by default but can be turned off. I wonder if apps are overriding this as well or if unchecking this would solve the problem. It seems like it would be better to have this setting disabled by default to prevent this sort of thing and to not let applications override it. So I suspect a work-around would be to simply uncheck this setting.

eh?

Not having looked at android yet I'm not sure how configurable the connections are but surely this should be easy for anyone with even minimal tech skills.

Simply set up any WIFI connections with your preferred encryption and passwords etc and then set any network data (GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA etc) connections to request a password.

When I'm anywhere that I have "unlimited" access, data works no problems, If i'm out and want to go online, the phone wont connect unless I switch the password option off on the connection I want to use.

none of the network defined connections actually require a password but forcing the phone to ask for one prevents it from inadvertantly connecting and me having to explain high data charges to my boss - takes a few seconds to change the setting

mines the one with the large pocket for the rediculous N61 calulator lookalike that work requires i carry around...

smug mobile user

doesn't use apps... saving £hundreds.

I have a camera for taking pictures, a piece of paper for taking notes and I install programs on a computer which has reasonable security. The phone I use just as a phone. Oh, and these rogue apps were nothing to do with me.