Android apps have a habit of collecting a lot of personal information from users, and it’s something that Google has been trying to clamp down on. Part of this comes from providing a list of permissions for each app; which has lead to one of our forum goers to notice that Lazada’s app is asking for a lot more information than one would have expected.
User EdBaaBaa posted in the Lowyat.NET forums on Thursday asking for help with the somewhat intrusive nature of the app. According to Google Play, the Lazada app wants access to Device & App History, Identity, Calendar, Contacts, Location, Phone, Photos, Storage, WiFi Connection Information, Device ID & Call Information, Full Network Access, Run At Startup, Use Of Accounts At Startup, and Modify System Settings.
If that list looks far longer than any shopping app really should have, it is because it doesn’t really need all of those permissions to do what it needs to do.
Lazada, for its part, has responded by saying that it needs all of this information to provide a better user experience; and has reassured us that it doesn’t sell or trade the data. We’ve shared the statement from Lazada here:
The information required in the screenshot is necessary information that is collected in order to offer a better user experience on the app. Lazada does not sell, or trade customers’ personal information collected online with third parties.
Personal information collected online will only be disclosed within our corporate group and to third parties for the purposes for which it was collected.
Lazada takes the security and privacy of users very seriously. For full details on how we collect, store and use the information, please refer to our Privacy Policy at https://www.lazada.com.my/privacy-policy/
Shopping online has always been a little intrusive, as the use of tracking cookies tends to collect a lot of information about what a user has been doing online. This includes keeping note of what people have been looking to provide better targeted advertisements. Even Google goes to great lengths to keep track of what people are doing with their devices and internet searches.
That said, Lazada’s app asks for twice the amount of permissions of comparable e-commerce providers.
We’re likely to believe that the requested permissions act similarly to tracking cookies, allowing Lazada to collect anonymized data on user behaviour and eventually lead to pushing products which it thinks users may be interested in.
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