That's swell. It would also be great if there was a single button on the Control Center that would allow me to toggle global location on/off instead of how it is which is multiple clicks, scroll and confirmation.
iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
231–240 of 461 posts
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is great, and everything you’ve said is true. But the change in iOS13 is the regularly occurring pop up alert to prompt users to pick a lower permission for apps they don’t use often that are also tracking location. As others have mentioned, iOS has had the fine grain permission for a while. What’s new is the regular prompt.
Android 10 also has a similar prompt via notifications.
thankfully most people use android 10 as regularly as later iOS versions.
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure, but Google/Android has added fine grain GPS permissions in Android 10+ so we have the option to say "just track when using app" instead of "no" or "all the time". The problem, now, is rolling it out due to fragmentation.
Reading this it seems to imply that iOS doesn't support this (sorry if not!), but it does and has for a very long time.
wrong implication, you're right.
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not only do I like having the ability to limit GPS per app, but I can also disable background data and enforce 'energy saver mode' (aka make background tasks infrequent) on an individual app basis.
We can also easily mock GPS on Android and there are apps for that.
yay "solutions"
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
Termius is lying. They could just as easily played silent audio in the background to keep the app from being suspended. Although in my opinion both practices should cause them to be rejected from the AppStore since they’re clearly misusing the APIs. Must be an oversight from the review team at Apple.
That option would mean the user couldn't listen to other audio in the background.
Apple’s reviewers try to distinguish between apps that legitimately need to play audio in the background and apps whose use cases have nothing to do with audio (or location) and are likely using the APIs to work around the rules.
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
the real fix here is to move off ssh onto a mosh server, as it's specifically designed to fix this use-case without requiring a persistent connection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosh_(software)
Mosh has a number of issues, though. IIRC it doesn't do scrollback, and being "non-standard" it can be problematic to set up.
Mosh has a lot of issues. Most notably it lacks flow control [1] and does not handle packet loss or truncation [2].
Very sad, because the idea behind Mosh is great.
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#237On the other hand Apple has forced apps to use location data for purposes it should not be used for. Termius, for example, is my favorite iOS SSH app. But according to them, they can’t keep an SSH session running in the background unless they’re constantly tracking your location data. And somehow Apple approved this usage of location data. I don’t want to give Termius my location. I don’t want them tracking me everyw…
Absent memory pressure, apps can stay open for up to 10 minutes in the background. The correct solution here is for the app to request background processing and to schedule a local notification in 9 minutes saying that the app is about to run out of background time and pause (and then clean up the notification if the user returns to the app before it fires). This means you're not abusing anything, and it lets the use…
Or instead of using a hack that intermittently fails, you could use a platform that lets the app function correctly. The app can pester the user about if they want to keep the connection open only if the user specifically wants that.
Termius works perfectly on Android without requesting my location.
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google pays very dearly for that, btw
Which is another way of saying Apple values money over users being protected from something terrible.
I think Apple values the user perception that Google is the best search engine. Note how they used Bing for Siri and Spotlight search (and they've been largely, if not entirely, replacing that with Siri Knowledge instead).
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
The reason I called out Apple is because they normally take a strong stance on misuse of permissions. I’ve had my own apps rejected for the justification “I need location permissions so I know where you are” in a mapping app where the use case is obvious. If Apple is playing hands on, they deserve just as much blame.
I don't disagree. They need to do have a consistent approach. Selective enforcement is not likely the thing here, it seems like sibling that this just got missed. So, report to Apple, file a review, stop using it. If Apple comes to the rescue and characteristically fixes it, great, if they don't - they've already made great steps in allowing you to make informed decisions.
Why stop using the app, let one report it, and not just turn the unwanted feature off?
And I think the app is covered since it's saying "enabling location data means you can plot on a map where you've connected to a host" or something like that in settings - good enough a bs feature for Apple to let it slide, evidently.
Re: iOS 13 app tracking alert has dramatically cut location data flow to ad industry
#240On the other hand Apple has forced apps to use location data for purposes it should not be used for. Termius, for example, is my favorite iOS SSH app. But according to them, they can’t keep an SSH session running in the background unless they’re constantly tracking your location data. And somehow Apple approved this usage of location data. I don’t want to give Termius my location. I don’t want them tracking me everyw…
iOS really needs a channel for legitimate, real background apps. A lot of its battery life and security advantages over Android come from the fact that it doesn't allow a wild-west of background processes, but there are certain cases where you really do just need that. Apple is good at taking use-cases and creating cohesive stories around the right way to serve them; this one has been long-coming.
Apple does have a small number of very specific use cases carved out where they allow apps to run in the background, like VOIP apps and audio players. But “I just want to run in the background to do stuff” has never been a legitimate use case in their view.