Permissions make apps seem broken
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
snap-store-desktop |
New
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
Snaps are causing a lot of confusion and bad ratings in the Ubuntu Software manager. Since these permission problems are common, I imagine many new users will think that all the apps are broken and abandon Ubuntu.
As an example, for the app "deadbeef-vs":
1. "This application is unconfined" and yet it can't open files from the second drive. The reason is Snap permissions, but few people seem to realise that because there are 11 1-star reviews for the app, most talking about how the app is crap because it can't open files.
Relatedly:
2. Permissions for this app are very odd:
a. "Play and record sound" is listed twice and doesn't prevent playing audio.
b. "Play audio" is a separate permission which conflicts with that.
c. "Read/write files on removable storage devices" is misnamed because my second drive is not removable.
Wouldn't it be better if Snap apps explicitly requested their relevant permissions, or at the very least popped up the permissions dialog after install? Requesting permissions would put Ubuntu apps on par with Android apps.