Bug 499823

Summary: Wrongly labeled flatpak audio permissions!
Product: [Applications] Discover Reporter: mnet77
Component: Flatpak BackendAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status: RESOLVED FIXED    
Severity: normal CC: aleixpol, jgrulich, nate, travier
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 6.2.5   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: unspecified   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: https://invent.kde.org/plasma/discover/-/commit/3faaf562100d8e874a8c47e5fed07feaff524a5e Version Fixed In: 6.4.0
Sentry Crash Report:

Description mnet77 2025-02-11 16:44:06 UTC 
SUMMARY
For any flatpak application to be able to play sound, you need to grant it the permission to use the Pulse audio server. Unfortunately for now flatpaks dont allow you to control, whether you just want to grant the permission of audio output or audio input, just to the whole pulse audio server. (https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/6082 ; https://github.com/flatpak/xdg-desktop-portal/discussions/1142)
Discover translates this permission into "Application can play audio", which is clearly false and could maybe even be seen as a security concern for users with little knowledge in this aspect.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
Search for any flatpak application, which clearly can use your microphone, like audacity or dicord.

OBSERVED RESULT
Look at the listed audio permissions. "Can play audio"

EXPECTED RESULT
"Can play audio"
"Can use microphone(maybe a disclaimer here so people dont think everything is spyware)"
OR
"Has access to pc audio"
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Its very unfortunate that flatpaks cant be configure in that way yet, but I definitely think discover should disclose this.
Comment 1 Nate Graham 2025-02-19 16:14:32 UTC 
Git commit 3faaf562100d8e874a8c47e5fed07feaff524a5e by Nate Graham.
Committed on 19/02/2025 at 16:13.
Pushed by ngraham into branch 'master'.

Correct pulseaudio permission description string

This doesn't just let the app play audio, but also record it.
FIXED-IN: 6.4.0

M  +1    -1    libdiscover/backends/FlatpakBackend/FlatpakResource.cpp

https://invent.kde.org/plasma/discover/-/commit/3faaf562100d8e874a8c47e5fed07feaff524a5e