Religious apps with sinful permissions

I just came across this October 2019 article on C|NET whose lead is: "Religious apps with sinful permissions requests are more common than you think: Christian Android apps account for hundreds of millions of downloads on the Google Play Store -- and too many are data devils"
I will acknowledge that I've naively assumed that the Bible apps I use are not problematic, but it's worth checking out the permissions your Bible app requests. If you're like me, you usually just click through those things.
The article highlights problems with some King James Bible apps and especially notes issues with apps connected to the Christian Broadcasting Network, Christian Mingle and Christian Matrimony, Cold Case Christianity, and the Bible Verses App from SpringTech. (This last is identified basically as a browser hijacker.) I haven't used any of those apps, but there is a long section on the YouVersion Bible app which I do use and have on my phone now. Apparently they have been reducing the number of permissions it requires, but I just went and looked on the Google Play store for what's going on with the Android version. Here's what it says:
YouVersion
This app has access to:
Contacts

• find accounts on the device
• read your contacts

Wi-Fi connection information

• view Wi-Fi connections

Identity

• find accounts on the device
• read your own contact card

Location

• approximate location (network-based)
• precise location (GPS and network-based)

Photos/Media/Files

• read the contents of your USB storage
• modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Storage

• read the contents of your USB storage
• modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Camera

• take pictures and videos

Other

• receive data from Internet
• run at startup
• prevent device from sleeping
• connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
• allow Wi-Fi Multicast reception
• view network connections
• use accounts on the device
• control vibration
• read Google service configuration
• full network access

Someone else who knows better than I do can comment about which of those permissions are really necessary. I'm wary that it has access to my contacts, accounts, wifi, location, and hooks into Google. This got me to check the other Bible apps I regularly use.

Logos
This app has access to:
Contacts

• find accounts on the device

Identity

• add or remove accounts
• find accounts on the device

Location

• precise location (GPS and network-based)

Photos/Media/Files

• read the contents of your USB storage
• modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Storage

• read the contents of your USB storage
• modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Other

• receive data from Internet
• create accounts and set passwords
• read Google service configuration
• use accounts on the device
• view network connections
• full network access
• prevent device from sleeping

That's not much different from YouVersion's permissions.

Accordance:
This app has access to:
Photos/Media/Files

• read the contents of your USB storage
• modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Storage

• read the contents of your USB storage
• modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Other

• view network connections
• full network access.

Accordance certainly is the least invasive as far as permissions are concerned. Again, someone else may be able to confirm what permissions an app needs, so these may all be perfectly acceptable. On the other hand, you may want to go into your App settings and turn off some off some of the permissions such as location sharing.

A Quick Survey of Bible Apps for Android and iPhone

A Quick Survey of Bible Apps for Android and iPhone

For more detailed study, check into the offerings from Accordance, Laridian, Logos, or Olive Tree. If you already have purchased desktop versions of these programs, then you have access to most of your resources through the apps as well.
There are many free Bible apps from which to choose for both Android and iPhone. Things to keep in mind:

• Note that some of these are actual apps. Some provide access to web versions optimized for mobile devices. If your mobile device has a web browser, you can, of course, always go to some of the better sites' web pages. Check out the Lumina Bible site or the Tyndale House STEP Bible online (also downloadable for Win and Mac).
• Some of them work by 'streaming' Bible versions to you. That is, you must have access to a data stream, and you won't be able to use that version when you don't have data access. The benefit of this approach is that you can often have access to Bible versions for which you would otherwise need to pay. (E.g., for NRSV)
• Most of them will allow you to download some Bibles to your device and use them offline or without a data stream. Many are free. Some you will need to purchase. Some common free and useful Bibles include:
  • English: ESV, NET (without full notes), KJV, Lexham (from Logos), LXX Brenton English (an older English translation of the LXX)
  • Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad codex
  • Greek: SBL Greek New Testament (from SBL and Logos), Westcott-Hort, Scrivener, some also offer the Greek LXX
• Some apps offer a variety of related resources: dictionaries, maps, commentaries, Bible reading plans, etc. One thing to look for are Bible versions that are linked with Strong's. This provides the quick and free way to get some lexical and parsing help. Note that you can find versions in English, Hebrew, and Greek (both LXX and NT) linked to Strong's. Most of them have search capabilities. Some have audio versions.
• Some of them offer all sorts of options for highlighting, social sharing, and note keeping, and often these can be synced with an online version.

With those things in mind, here are some suggestions.

ANDROID

• If you have already purchased the program, check into Laridian, Logos, or Olive Tree.
• Among the free ones I recommend:
  • MySword: This is one of the fastest loading programs, so when I'm in church and want to get to the lesson quickly, I use this one. Lots of free modules including: LXX and an analytical LXX, Brenton's LXX English, NET (no notes), Hebrew Westminster, Lexham, KJV, SBL GNT.
  • YouVersion: Many, many English versions, and many can be downloaded including NET (with notes), CEV, CEB, ESV, Good News, Holman, KJV, Lexham, Message, NIV, NIrV, NLT, etc. Westminster Hebrew, SBL Greek NT; hundreds of other non-English versions.
  • BibleGateway: If you are familiar with the BibleGateway web site, this is an app version of it.
  • Textweek - The Text This Week: Many of you are doubtless familiar with the rich Textweek site. Here's an app that will give access to all its riches.

iPhone / iPad

• If you have already purchased the program, check into Accordance, Laridian, Logos, or Olive Tree.
• Among the free versions, I recommend:
  • YouVersion: Many, many English versions, and many can be downloaded including NET (with notes), CEV, CEB, ESV, Good News, Holman, KJV, Lexham, Message, NIV, NIrV, NLT, etc. Westminster Hebrew, SBL Greek NT; hundreds of other non-English versions.
  • BibleGateway: If you are familiar with the BibleGateway web site, this is an app version of it.
  • Lumina Bible Study: This is an app version of the Lumina Bible site.
  • Textweek - The Text This Week: Many of you are doubtless familiar with the rich Textweek site. Here's an app that will give access to all its riches.
  • ESV Bible App: ESV only but does include ESV Global Study Bible for free

These are my recommendations. There are doubtless many more apps out there, and I know less about the iPhone ones. If you have a favorite to recommend, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Android Bible Apps - Relative Speed

I am still working through the Bible apps I have on my Droid X. A common situation for me in using these is when I am in church and wanting to follow along with the lessons being read. I usually like to work in the Greek so I like to have the LXX and a Greek NT handy. One of my frustrations is when the app takes so long to load that I never can catch up with the reader. Even 10 seconds can seem like a long time... Given our liturgy, there is usually enough time between readings that my smartphone turns off, so I need to jump back in to the app. So, I conducted an unscientific test to see how long it takes to:

• Tap the app to launch it
• Exit and immediately relaunch the app
• Switch to a new passage
• Switch to another version (one that's been previously downloaded)
• Switch back to the previous version.

I tried to make sure that nothing else was going on with the phone, and I ran the tests twice. The averages do basically confirm how it feels in real practice.

Do note, however, that there are lots of other factors involved that I do not include here.

• CadreBible and MySword have very nice Parallel or Compare views, and Logos and Olive Tree allow for split screen views if you want multiple versions or languages displayed. For this test, I was just interested in getting to reading a text as quickly as possible. 
• This test does not take into account how long it takes to navigate to a different version or passage. It's not (usually) a significant addition of time (except for Logos which does not have a recently used list), but some apps have better and faster ways of moving around. 
• I have these different apps because I use them for different things, and each has different capabilities. Since I have a good Logos library, I tend to use it when I'm needing to do more in-depth work. So, the speed is probably also dependent somewhat on how many resources are included and the capabilities of the program.
• Laridian's PocketBible is still in pre-release, and I only have a few versions to use with it.

I have my bottom line below, but here are my results. My color coding scheme is rather arbitrary, but it highlights the differences well enough. Green is best, yellow is average, red is slow. (Click on graphic to enlarge)

BOTTOM LINE
As you can see, there are significant differences in how fast each app works on my Droid X. As for me, especially for working with Greek, MySword is the clear winner. I don't have as many English versions in MySword, so if I'm wanting to look at the most English versions, I use YouVersion. It, however, does not have a good way to see multiple versions displayed together, and in that case, I'm back to MySword, CadreBible, Olive Tree, or Logos.

As usual, your own experience probably will vary. Updates to the apps are regularly coming which would likely change results. Still, 'speediness' is a factor developers should keep in mind as they work on their apps.

Versions Available in Android Bible Apps

Android Bible Apps Available Versions as of 2012.09.06

 Apps surveyed (with links to install):

• ANDBible
• Biblia.com
• CadreBible
• Logos
• MySword
• Olive Tree
• PocketBible
• YouVersion

I am working toward updated and fuller reviews of the various Bible apps for Android, but in the meantime, I've collated lists of Bible versions that are available in each. Note that my listing is somewhat eclectic in including only English translations I regard as significant along with Greek, Hebrew, and Latin original texts. Each of the apps offers many other texts in other languages that I do not include here. I am also not evaluating the functionality of the app at this time except that I note instances where accented Greek is not displayed properly. Also note that I am highlighting what is available for free in each of the apps, but if you want more and better resources, they can be purchased. You should especially look at the offerings from CadreBible, Logos (and the associated Biblia.com), and Olive Tree.

You can see the full listing of available versions for each app HERE (DOCX / PDF) which also includes prices for additional versions. Otherwise I have summarized my results below. As usual, if  you happen to stumble upon this page a couple years down the line, note that probably everything has changed!

Conclusions:

· If you are mainly interested in consulting a variety of useful English translations, YouVersion is clearly the app to use. In addition to all the versions, it also includes access to the NET Bible with all its excellent notes. Some versions—e.g., the NRSV—are only available for purchase or via  a web browser.

If you are interested in looking at Greek texts:

• For the Septuagint (LXX), MySword is your best choice and even has a version that is parsed and linked to Strong's.
• The NestleAland or UBS texts are only available for purchase in some of the apps. A good and free alternative is the SBL GNT which was sponsored by Logos. The SBL GNT is available in CadreBible, Logos, MySword, and OliveTree. (I wish I could include YouVersion here, but I cannot get the accented Greek to display properly.)
• Most apps have some edition of the Textus Receptus or Byzantine text or some other early critical edition (Westcott-Hort or Tischendorf). Among them, your best choice is probably MySword since it also includes Scriveners (1894) parsed and linked with Strong's.

· If you are interested in texts of the Hebrew Bible / OT, the standard BHS text is only available for purchase in a few apps. Some acceptable alternative texts (Aleppo or Leningrad) are available in MySword, CadreBible, and Olive Tree. I'm watching ANDBible to see what comes of their promised Open Scriptures Morphological Hebrew Bible that is linked with Strong's.

· For Latin, some edition of the Vulgate is available in ANDBible, CadreBible, MySword, Logos, Olive Tree, and Biblia.com.

Summary of Versions available:

English

·         NRSV: The NRSV is not available for free in any Android app. The cheapest way to get it is either in Olive Tree or as part of a Logos library.It's also available for CadreBible. If you have web access, you can read the NRSV at Biblia.com, BibleStudyTools, or the Oremus Bible Browser.

·         The NET Bible:  The NET is available with limited notes in many of the apps. It's available for free in YouVersion and at Biblia.com. It can be purchased for Olive Tree, Logos, or CadreBible.

·         KJV linked to Strong's: for purchase in CadreBible and Olive Tree

·         Other English versions worth consulting:

o   ANDBible: ESV, Lexham, translations of Peshitto NT

o   Biblia.com: ESV, Good News, HCSB,Lexham, Message, NASB, NIV, NLT

o   Logos: ESV, Good News, HCSB, Lexham, NASB, NLT

o   MySword: Lexham, LXX Brenton

o   YouVersion: CEB, CEV, ESV, Good News, HCSB, Lexham, Message, NASB, NIV, NLT, TNIV

Greek (with correct display of accented letters)

·         LXX: ANDBible ,CadreBible, MySword

·         LXX Parsed/Strongs: MySword

·         SBLGNT: Biblia.com, CadreBible, Logos, MySword, OliveTree

·         NestleAland: available for purchase in CadreBible, Logos, OliveTree

·         Westcott-Hort: ANDBible, CadreBible, Logos 

·         Some version of Textus Receptus or Byzantine: ANDBible, CadreBible, Logos, Olive Tree, MySword

·         Some Greek NT parsed/Strong's: ANDBible, MySword

Hebrew

·         BHS:  available for purchase in CadreBible, Logos, Olive Tree

·         Other Hebrew Bible (Aleppo and/or Leningrad): ANDBible, MySword, CadreBible, Olive Tree

Latin

·         Vulgate: ANDBible, CadreBible, MySword, Logos, Olive Tree, Biblia.com