

A Privacy Analysis of the HTML5 Battery Status API [pdf] - r721
http://eprint.iacr.org/2015/616.pdf

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legulere
Why would you even give websites that info?

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edent
Just off the top of my head...

\- Disable the HTML5 Vibration API if battery power is low.

\- Increased network activity is battery is full or charging.

\- Project how much time a user has to complete an activity before the battery
runs out.

\- Change page colour scheme to reduce battery drain.

This is a really useful API - especially if it reduces "range anxiety" for
mobile users.

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mrob
\- Vibration should be disabled by the OS, not the apps.

\- Network activity should be as predictable as possible, because people often
have to pay by the megabyte, and any "smart" changes in activity increase the
chance that people will be unpleasantly surprised.

\- The OS should predict remaining battery life, not the apps. If there's
going to be a new API it should let the apps inform the OS of future activity
so the OS can make better predictions.

\- Changing color to reduce battery drain only makes a noticeable difference
with OLED. It will annoy the more common LCD users for no benefit to them.

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nsgi
It also assumes lower battery power always means you want lower power
consumption. You could have a full battery but not have a charger with you and
want to make it last as long as possible.

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AdmiralAsshat
I just skimmed the article, but it seems like this is only a concern for
Firefox running on Linux due to the enhanced precision.

