[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] doink123:
I'm the developer of Tiny Flashlight. Sorry for the constant updates. I'm improving the app with every update, but usually not all devices are affected and that's why you won't see new features or fixes on your device. For example, in the latest update I've added support for variable led brightness on most new HTC devices (and this doesn't affect Epic 4G).

At the end of this week I'll release a new version which will fix a long standing bug, which makes the app freeze on some devices like LG Thrill 4G, and this again won't affect Epic 4G, but it's very important to be released for the LG Thrill users.

I'm trying to keep the updates as low as possible (currently 3-4 per month), but I can't promise to lower this number more (at least not in the next couple of months), because I'm preparing some big improvements, which I want to push in several small steps - this helps track problems faster and the fixes are ready for the next update.

All this makes Tiny Flashlight one of the higher-quality apps on the Android Market.

For every update there is a detailed changes log, which you can see before updating - again in the android market app. Here's the changes log for the latest version (v3.9.9.13):

* Fixed widget size on Android 4.0

* Widget didn't start the light every time on Galaxy Nexus. This is fixed

* Fixed screen flicker on Galaxy Nexus after pressing the widget

* Added variable led brightness on almost all HTC devices

* Added support for XENON based devices (using the auto-focus LED) - Motorola XT701, XT711, XT720 and added Strobe Light support

* Color and Bulb lights brightness is now persistent

* Fixed main interface frame on Android 4.0

As for the permissions - I'm pasting you the relevant part from the app description:

Flashlight Permissions:

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Why Tiny Flashlight needs so many permissions and how are they used:

* TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS (CAMERA permission)

- In order to start the camera led (flash) on some devices, Tiny Flashlight has to use a small part of the camera hardware and it needs this permission. Don't worry, I'm not taking any pictures or videos without your permission. Tiny Flashlight is just accessing the camera led (flash).

* CONTROL FLASH LIGHT

- This is the old method of accessing the camera flash on Android 1.5 and 1.6.

*** As you know, Tiny Flashlight is free, but also is one of the best supported apps on the Android Market. Currently, this is the only app that supports almost all devices with camera led (flash) and fully supports all versions of Android (1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 3.0). This takes huge amounts of time and effort and in order for Tiny Flashlight to remain the best flashlight on the market, I have to use ads inside it.

The following permissions are required by Google's own ad provider (Admob) and Millennial Media (the biggest independent ad network). Both are respected industry leaders.

* INTERNET

- Used to load ad info from their servers. Nothing more.

* MODIFY/DELETE USB STORAGE

- Temporary caches some ads on your SD Card. This method is used to save bandwidth.

* READ PHONE STATE AND IDENTITY

- Some Motorola devices have factory bugs. These devices don't have unique IDs and this became a problem for ad networks, because they can't function without it. There is a workaround for this problem by using the PHONE IDENTITY permission. This permission is used only for getting a unique id. Nothing more.