The “Sync Contacts” setting is weird. You can toggle it on, but it doesn’t gain or ask for the OS permissions on Android. There’s a brief message saying you have to give it the permission. No idea why they didn’t just use the built in SDK to ask for the permission.
Just to clarify, it’s not just that there’s an Android API to ask for permissions that apps use to show a consistent UI: that’s the way that apps actually get access to whatever feature they’re requesting, and if they don’t go through that API they don’t get access. An app can’t just decide in an update that it wants access to contacts without asking. The Android API to get contact info checks the app requesting the info and won’t give it anything if the user hasn’t explicitly granted that permission to that app. Most commonly when something like this comes up it’s a permission that was granted in the set of permissions requested when the app was installed and the user just skipped through the prompt and they don’t realize they granted access to contacts.
Edit to add: You can go into the settings for the app (not in the app itself, but in the app manager under your device settings, usually also accessible by holding on the app’s launcher icon and going to Info) and you can remove permissions that you’ve granted previously. So if you’re worried about this you can yank the Contacts permissions at the OS level and it doesn’t matter what the Discord settings are, they won’t be able to access your contacts anymore.
I’m in Washington State. Perhaps it’s something else. I had Nitro and canceled it this year. I don’t remember turning off this specific setting but maybe I did and it’s kept it since? My phone is a S21. I’ve had my Discord account since Dec 2015. The only thing I can think of is that I’ve used my Discord account in California which has slightly different privacy laws than the USA.
Stranger still, the other screenshot you posted did have the “Allow contacts to add me” checkbox checked, but it only appears when you tap “Add Friends.” When you leave that screen and return, the checkbox is always checked. It makes me think it’s a setting solely applicable to that screen, like just for the “Find Friends” button, and not to your profile as a whole. IDK if that even makes sense.
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The “Sync Contacts” setting is weird. You can toggle it on, but it doesn’t gain or ask for the OS permissions on Android. There’s a brief message saying you have to give it the permission. No idea why they didn’t just use the built in SDK to ask for the permission.
Just to clarify, it’s not just that there’s an Android API to ask for permissions that apps use to show a consistent UI: that’s the way that apps actually get access to whatever feature they’re requesting, and if they don’t go through that API they don’t get access. An app can’t just decide in an update that it wants access to contacts without asking. The Android API to get contact info checks the app requesting the info and won’t give it anything if the user hasn’t explicitly granted that permission to that app. Most commonly when something like this comes up it’s a permission that was granted in the set of permissions requested when the app was installed and the user just skipped through the prompt and they don’t realize they granted access to contacts.
For the curious, here’s the Android developer guide page that describes how Contacts permissions work for app authors. And the page describing permissions in general, how to request, etc.
Edit to add: You can go into the settings for the app (not in the app itself, but in the app manager under your device settings, usually also accessible by holding on the app’s launcher icon and going to Info) and you can remove permissions that you’ve granted previously. So if you’re worried about this you can yank the Contacts permissions at the OS level and it doesn’t matter what the Discord settings are, they won’t be able to access your contacts anymore.
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It was enabled for me and I’m very glad I saw this post so I could disable it. I would have never known it existed.
Yeah, I just checked after updating yesterday and didn’t have it enabled.
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I’m in Washington State. Perhaps it’s something else. I had Nitro and canceled it this year. I don’t remember turning off this specific setting but maybe I did and it’s kept it since? My phone is a S21. I’ve had my Discord account since Dec 2015. The only thing I can think of is that I’ve used my Discord account in California which has slightly different privacy laws than the USA.
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It was disabled for me.
Stranger still, the other screenshot you posted did have the “Allow contacts to add me” checkbox checked, but it only appears when you tap “Add Friends.” When you leave that screen and return, the checkbox is always checked. It makes me think it’s a setting solely applicable to that screen, like just for the “Find Friends” button, and not to your profile as a whole. IDK if that even makes sense.
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Did Discord hire Google’s laid off UX designers or something? Jesus Christ.
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