Contact list use by Apps.

Ingress and Pokémon Go but not HPWU ask for permission to use our contact list on our devices. Does Ingress really need this permission? Can Niantic allow us to be removed from someone else’s contact list if their list is used by one of Niantic’s apps?

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  • KonnTowerKonnTower ✭✭✭✭✭

    The answer is no, it doesn't need to use the contact permission. You opt in to provide it if you accept.

  • Here's new text from the privacy policy:

    If you elect to import your device’s address book contacts to find out which of your contacts uses our Services and to send them Friend requests, or invite them to join you in our games or other aspects of our Services, we will periodically sync your contacts’ information, including phone number and email, to our servers. You are responsible for ensuring your collection and sharing with us of your contacts’ information is compliant with applicable laws. This may require you to obtain your contacts’ permission. We may also get information about you from other Niantic users importing or entering their contacts. We use and may store this contact information to help you and your contacts connect through our Services. You can change your mind and turn off Niantic’s access to your contacts at any time in your device settings.

    1) I do not plan to upload my contacts, and don't have their permission to upload, so I denied access to contact list in app permissions.

    2) if someone else has my number or email in their contacts list, maybe a person I haven't talked to in 10 years, maybe a spammer with 100K contacts, who knows - they do not have my permission, in particular "to find out which of your contacts uses our Services".

    How to make sure Niantic ignores my info when other people upload it?

  • InvestigateXMInvestigateXM ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2021

    >How to make sure Niantic ignores my info when other people upload it?

    You can't. The TOS addition is to cover their behinds in case someone does upload your contact information without your permission, making them non-liable*. If you do somehow notice that Niantic has your contact details, they can and probably will point to the person who uploaded it, saying that they didn't allow it.

    I do believe though that Niantic has an obligation to delete your contact information if it gets uploaded anyway*. You'll probably have to sent a mail to the privacy department of Niantic

    *I'm not a lawyer, so everything said should be taken with a grain of salt

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