[whatwg] Device element and the lifetime of the stream objects

[Leandro Graciá Gil]

Hi,

Looking at the current state of the specification I see there is no mention
about the expected lifetime of the stream objects, or to say it in another
way, the period in which a page can access the selected device data. We
would like to propose that the user can explicitly invalidate an existing
stream so that any further access would require a new confirmation by the
user.

Here is one use case example. Consider a page featuring video chat where the
user makes use of the device element to create a Stream. Later, the user
finishes chatting and stops using the devices without leaving the page. At
this point, we need to prevent a malicious Web application from accessing
the device camera or microphone again without the user's consent.

Given the above case, we don't think that the lifetime of the Stream objects
should be controlled exclusively by the Web application. We think that the
specification should state "the UA must allow the user to explicitly revoke
access". The API should then be then extended with a way to handle
gracefully the situation when access is revoked in the middle of a streaming
session.

All feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Leandro