instagram?

why would anyone give any app this much permission?

from the Google Play Instagram Permissions page:

THIS APPLICATION HAS ACCESS TO THE FOLLOWING:
HARDWARE CONTROLS
TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS
Allows the app to take pictures and videos with the camera. This allows the app at any time to collect images the camera is seeing.
any time? so the app can collect images without my knowledge?

YOUR LOCATION
FINE (GPS) LOCATION
Access fine location sources such as the Global Positioning System on the tablet, where available. Malicious apps may use this to determine where you are, and may consume additional battery power. Access fine location sources such as the Global Positioning System on the phone, where available. Malicious apps may use this to determine where you are, and may consume additional battery power.
i can't turn it off when i don't want to use it?

NETWORK COMMUNICATION
FULL INTERNET ACCESS
Allows the app to create network sockets.
why and do what with them?

YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
READ CONTACT DATA
Allows the app to read all of the contact (address) data stored on your tablet. Malicious apps may use this to send your data to other people. Allows the app to read all of the contact (address) data stored on your phone. Malicious apps may use this to send your data to other people.
why do the makers of this app need my friends information?

STORAGE
MODIFY/DELETE USB STORAGE CONTENTS MODIFY/DELETE SD CARD CONTENTS
Allows the app to write to the USB storage. Allows the app to write to the SD card.
seems almost reasonable

SYSTEM TOOLS
PREVENT TABLET FROM SLEEPING PREVENT PHONE FROM SLEEPING
Allows the app to prevent the tablet from going to sleep. Allows the app to prevent the phone from going to sleep.
sleep is necessary to conserve battery - seems this app wants way too much control

RETRIEVE RUNNING APPS
Allows the app to retrieve information about currently and recently running tasks. Malicious apps may discover private information about other apps.
Hide
this is ridiculous

NETWORK COMMUNICATION
RECEIVE DATA FROM INTERNET
Allows apps to accept cloud to device messages sent by the app's service. Using this service will incur data usage. Malicious apps could cause excess data usage.
this app wants way too much control, can destroy a battery, make the phone useless, cost money in phone data charges, and violates privacy way too much - definitely something fishy about google wanting all this power in every phone they can get...

google plus minus me

google plus is really ticking me off... i keep clicking on links that take me to a page that someone talking to me online on facebook or somewhere referred me to and find myself on google plus, only i can't do anything there because i am not a google plus approved member or whatever it takes to get in there and it's wasting my time...

whenever google plus does open their doors to me, i might go in, but this bad taste in my mouth will go with me...

worse and worse

google dot com, google.com, the google corporation, more and more is becoming as unpleasant to deal with as the microsoft corporation… the way microsoft tries to control everything you do with their software as if they own your computer, google is trying to control everything you do with the web and our only alternative is to toss the pc and avoid the google site (and all the subsidiaries) and see if the apple corporation, the macintosh apple software, and the blogging software that is out there will allow the freedom that google and microsoft do not…

yeah, maybe tomorrow, when i've got more time to learn and explore and more money to invest in computers...