And lets say, my application is a simple feed reader. Does my app really have to include the no warranty notice?
What happens if I do not explicitly state This program comes with absolutely no warranty?
legal
A no warranty clause gives you limited protection from being made liable for any damage caused by your program. How much protection varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.One scenario where a simple news reader could cause damage is through a security vulnerability. A malicious newsfeed could exploit a bug in your reader and infect the users machine with malware which deletes important files on their machine or disclose sensitive information to a 3rd party. When the hoster of the newsfeed can not be located, the user might try get compensation for their damage from you.Another potential scenario could be a bug which causes it to poll the server very frequently. This could be interpreted as a DOS attack on it. The server hoster could decide to ban the user from using its services or even press charges for computer sabotage. The user could then try to make you liable for this mess.I am not a lawyer, so I can not estimate how likely it is that your users could be successful in court. You should consult one for more information.