14 DAY TRIAL // A security-oriented Android-based firmware called WhisperCore has implemented a system which allows the installation of apps with overly broad permission requirements without compromising actual data.
A big problem on the Android platform is that many developers don't really care too much about user privacy or security when creating their applications.
This leads to situations where apps request permissions they don't need or aren't supposed to have. For example, there are very few reasons for apps to request device identifiers, yet many of them do.
Users who are not comfortable with this practice don't have any option except refusing to install these applications, even though they might otherwise be suitable for their needs.
The new WhisperCore 5.0 firmware tries to solve this problem by introducing a so-called "selective permissions" system that is more flexible and give users more power over what apps can access.
"WhisperCore provides selective permissions in a way that doesn't take apps by surprise. Instead of denying access to resources, each permission revoked by a user creates a 'private resource' for that application," the firmware's developers explain.
"So if an application requests the phone's unique identifier, it will still get an identifier, but it will be a privacy-protected identifier generated specifically for that application," they add.
WhisperCore is a modified version of Android which contains a number of security enhancements like full disk encryption, firewall, encrypted backups and now, selective permissions. It is currently only available for Nexus S and Nexus One phones, but developers are working on adding support for other devices as well.
Whisper Systems, the company behind WhisperCore, also develops stand-alone applications for end-to-end encrypted voice communications and text messaging, as well as backup and network monitoring.
The WishperCore installer for Windows can be downloaded from here. The WishperCore installer for Mac can be downloaded from here. The WishperCore installer for Linux can be downloaded from here.