On my Samsung A10e phone, in Settings-> Apps-> Wyze-> Permissions I can deny location. I only permit microphone and storage. Would that address your issue?
Wonzt work in Android 5.
asking a usere to do a manual removal of permissions, seom a security perspective is not a valid solution. the app should only ask for and use the minimum permissions and if it needs more then to ask/conform a dn be clear on the use of it. it’s a standard practice. you can’t assume everyone is tech savvy enough to do a manual removal.
that wasn’t really an answer… " I am pretty sure Wyze app doesn’t track GPS info for camera connection" is not a definitive statement, which can be verified / not…
Eg… in the source code there are specific calls to several libraries which use precise location and it should be stated under which conditions they are in fact used… Eg. “GPS locaiton is NEVER sent to facebook unless you are using the geofencing feature with wyze lock”… thats the level of statment that should be made to clear up when and how the loction is used, and under what circumstance.
(BTW no one has answered why exact gps locations are being sent to facebook places…)
You are talking to WYZE users like yourself. They are guessing at answers.
If you are looking for answers from WYZE ask them.
1 Like
@angus.black last time I checked the WYZE name in the userid indicates employees of Wyze (and they have certainly acted as such in the past… ) they are included in this thread and have answered previous questions.
He isn’t the user you were responding to.
1 Like
No… but he was the one who indicated that the question was answered when in fact it was not…
@WyzeTao used the words I am pretty sure twice in his response. He is guessing like the rest of us.
That doesn’t indicate a definitive answer.
Have you asked WYZE support? I am curious too.
“pretty sure” is not definitive… check any dictionary…
care to keep going your pointless replys?
I can’t understand why people aren’t falling all over themselves to get you a satisfactory answer. 
I said “That doesn’t indicate a definitive answer.” in reference to I am pretty sure .
But yet I can understand why you continue to provide no meaningful input to this thread and just want to be antagonistic as possible. Guess you have nothing better to do.
Well, you know, COVID and all. 
Honestly though. I would like the same answers you are looking for about permissions.
I’ve asked a few questions about their Android programming. The answers were always very vague.
@WyzeTao @UserCustomerGwen can this be escalated so we can get an answer? It shouldn’t be this difficult to know why apps are requesting permissions.
1 Like
Just to clarify my understanding while we wait for an official answer…
-
I presume we all agree that if you have a Wyze Lock, it will need GPS data for trash mode and automatic lock/unlock, yes?
-
What specific hardware, firmware, app and Android version combination produced the location request?
Last night I installed version 2.11.40 and 2.11.41 on Android 6 and iOS 12 and don’t recall the request during the install process. Checking now, location permission is not enabled on either device. But will to check others if I have them. I only have cameras - nothing else. -
Are you running anything that might enable geofencing type functions, such as IFTTT, Stringify or Alexa? (I am not - at least not connected to the cameras in any way)
-
Maybe the bulbs request it when setting them up? I forget.
Good points, here is what started this whole thread/investigation
- on my Android 9 (4.4.153) on a Galaxy S8.
- my GPS location notifiction icon was showing up when unexpected.
- under the Android config for the “Recent Location Requests” the Wyzecam software had showed up as requesting the GPS loction
- I use the software for CAM only, no snapshots, no other products, so all possible explainations in this thread, including the “pretty sure” claim by @WyzeTao do NOT match the situation under which the software was being used.
- unfortunately I do not have a screencap of the page showing it, and there are no permanant logs showing the use in android or where the detailed GPS location was sent (but by reverse engineering the code there are some concerning places which do not appear to be realted to “stated” uses mentioned
- Undet the app permission the gps location was enabled (I do not remember setting it). it has since ben turned off for security reasons as there is no need for it with simple cam usage.
Very interesting, thanks! I will see if I can duplicate that.
I will be 100% honest and tell you all I have not read this entire thread here, but when you ask a question like the op did here, are you really willing to take their word for it? For me, if that question comes up, I need to find out why 1st hand, otherwise what good is the answer?
Since no one who’s replied seems to know, BLE requires fine location for initial pairing. This isn’t required after connection configuration but is at first. This is often a scare with Chinese scales which, while they may be also doing nefarious things in the app, do require it. Take a look at this screenshot of openScale’s full permissions manifest details in Android 10.
Now openScale is at least courteous enough to let you know that after pairing you’re more than welcome to disable that permission and the app will continue to function until you need to re-pair or pair a new scale. I have it set to only allow when I’m using the app.
I imagine this has to do with the Wyze band, though that shouldn’t be prompted for inherently. It’s also usable for the location-triggered events (also should be prompted only if configuring such), and may be required as part of the wifi survey the app performs prior to creating the connection QR. It seems like any use case for you means you can deny it after, but those are definite legitimate details on why it would be needed at all by the Wyze app. I have my own set to “only while using” as well as storage for clips, but that’s it.
Regardless it sounds as if most or all use cases besides location for events (recording on/off or similar in your case) should come with a note that you can safely disable it after initial configuration of the device that needs it, and I think Wyze needs to clarify this.
So I guess no answer from Wyze why there is GPS usage on the Wyzecam software when their own staff claim there should not be… I guess they don’t deem this important enough to investigate and answer why the app is not following their own expectations on GPS usage. Wonder if 12security would be interested in writing a blog article on it 