Functionalities as superior predictor of applications privacy threats

Applications are invading our devices whether in our phones, computers and TVs or in our cars, appliances and cameras. Providing great benefits in terms of added functionalities and customization, these applications also put a lot of pressure on our privacy. In order to offer their services, these applications needs access to data stored on the devices or captured by various sensors. Currently all systems have implemented a permissions based framework for granting access to various data, based on the requests made by the applications. However, it is difficult for most users to make informed decisions when they are asked to grant these accesses. In this paper, we present a paradigm shift from a permissions to a functionalities framework. We show that users are consistent in understanding functionalities offered by applications and we propose an ontology for bridging the gap between understandable functionalities and technical permissions.