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I am creating an app that needs to be COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection) compliant. I am wondering if cwac camera captures gps information about the user at all. Does it do geotagging by default? If so, how can I turn it off? For your reference, I am getting the following version of cwac camera (gradle).

compile 'com.commonsware.cwac:camera:0.6.+'

I will attach a snippet of my code. I am only extending SimpleCameraHost

class MyCameraHost extends SimpleCameraHost  {

    private Camera.Size previewSize;
    private boolean mUseFrontCamera;

    public MyCameraHost(Context ctxt, boolean b)  {

        super(ctxt);
        mUseFrontCamera = b;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean useFullBleedPreview() {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public Camera.Size getPictureSize(PictureTransaction xact, Camera.Parameters parameters)  {
        return previewSize;
    }

    @Override
    public Camera.Parameters adjustPreviewParameters(Camera.Parameters parameters)  {

        Camera.Parameters parameters1 = super.adjustPreviewParameters(parameters);

        if (parameters1.getSupportedFocusModes().contains(Camera.Parameters.FOCUS_MODE_CONTINUOUS_PICTURE))  {

            parameters1.setFocusMode(Camera.Parameters.FOCUS_MODE_CONTINUOUS_PICTURE);
        }

        previewSize = parameters1.getPreviewSize();
        return parameters1;
    }

    @Override
    public void saveImage(PictureTransaction xact, final Bitmap bitmap)  {
        runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                showTakenPicture(bitmap);
            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public void saveImage(PictureTransaction xact, byte[] image)  {
        super.saveImage(xact, image);
        photoPath = getPhotoPath();
    }

    @Override
    protected boolean useFrontFacingCamera()  {

        return mUseFrontCamera;
    }
}
andyjslee
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1 Answers1

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There is nothing in that code that does geo-tagging. It's mainly about configuring camera mode, saving file, should use front camera.

In Android obtaining user's location is a different implementation altogether that has nothing to do with camera.

inmyth
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  • Correct. However, I am not checking to see if some device's camera hardware automatically applies geotags. It shouldn't, but there are a lot of Android devices out there, some with fairly odd cameras. If you want to make absolutely sure, check the resulting JPEG for geotags and remove them. – CommonsWare May 15 '15 at 10:51
  • Hi Mark. That is a possibility but I kinda see this problem as more of lawyer stuff. If it's on hardware level I wonder if it's the hardware maker who would need to comply with (or be target of litigation from) this Coppa regulations. Btw I own your books since 2010. – inmyth May 15 '15 at 12:42
  • "If it's on hardware level I wonder if it's the hardware maker who would need to comply with (or be target of litigation from) this Coppa regulations" -- yeah, beats me. And thanks for being a subscriber! – CommonsWare May 15 '15 at 12:53
  • I'm not a lawyer, but I do work with COPPA a lot. It can be frustrating and confusing. The way the law reads, it is in fact the app and not the hardware manufacturer that is on the hook with the FTC. – profMobi May 19 '15 at 14:19