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I have found older version of Facebook For Android app here which was hosted on geekfiles.in

When i wanted to install 1.8.1 and checked permissions, the following arose my suspicions:

Services that cost you money:
Send SMS messages

Your messages:
edit SMS or MMS, read SMS or MMS, receive SMS

Your accounts:
act as an account authenticator, manage the accounts list

Phone calls:
read phone state and identity

Your accounts:
discover known accounts

Storage:
modify/delete SD card contents

Can unscrupulous people inject malware into APKs? If yes, what are trusted repositories for downgrading apps to older versions?

Is this repository trusted source?

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  • For future reference, you can use something like Titanium Backup to make backups of previous app versions and revert to them if something goes wrong (This saved my bacon when I almost got locked out of my Google account due to a botched Authenticator update).
    – Martin Tapankov
    Commented Mar 22, 2012 at 8:19
  • I am UNrooted as long as i have actual warranty, so cannot use Titanium Backup yet. I used MyBackup full version but could not find Facebook For Android .APK file and all that i have found was Facebook Messenger.
    – Boris_yo
    Commented Mar 22, 2012 at 21:07

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As a general rule, I don't trust any "freeware" or "shareware" site that has not specifically been recommended to me by someone I know and trust, and because these sites aren't my thing I can't either recommend or condemn this specific example. I can answer part of your question, though, and say an emphatic yes, unscrupulous people can inject malware into APKs. Installing an APK from an unknown source is generally a very bad idea.

The permissions you mention, though, are actually the same that the legit Facebook for Android app asks over in the Play store (see the "Permissions" tab). Permissions alone are a bad judge of an APK's potential for harm. In this case, personally, I would say the risk of an unknown source far outweighs the app's permission requests.

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    I wouldn't install an APK from a non-trusted source either.
    – louielouie
    Commented Mar 22, 2012 at 3:14
  • @Mr. Buster Not the same actually. I don't see legit Facebook for Android app asking permission to send/receive SMS messages.
    – Boris_yo
    Commented Mar 31, 2012 at 15:15
  • @Boris_yo - the SMS/MMS permissions I see are Send, Edit, Receive, and Read per the Play Market.
    – Mr. Buster
    Commented Apr 1, 2012 at 6:48
  • @Mr.Buster I see now that since version 1.8 send/receive SMS messages permissions were removed.
    – Boris_yo
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 21:02
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If you really want to downgrade an APK, the best way is to get it from another device that you trust using one of the methods in Where are the .apk files of currently installed apps stored on my Android device? Then you can put that APK on your device.

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  • After using MyBackup full version, i can only find Facebook Messenger .APK file but no Facebook For Android.
    – Boris_yo
    Commented Mar 22, 2012 at 21:05

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