Apps Are Using Background App Refresh to Send Data to Tracking Companies

[ignatius345]

Does Background Refresh matter for apps which do push notifications? For instance, would I get Dark Sky notifications and the like or would that all be shut down? I have no reason to distrust Dark Sky specifically, but I'm weighing the inconvenience of shutting off Background Refresh globally. There are some apps I DO think it might be convenient to have running and doing their thing, even when I'm not actively using them.
[doublepost=1559065665][/doublepost]

Wow, I just went to see which apps had background refresh enabled and they were ALL on!

I'm guessing the latest IOS update reset them, like it did my WiFi, bluetooth etc.

Weird. I'd shut off a bunch of them at some point months and months ago, and just re-checked and they're still off. Did you go through a big re-install or something?

 

[calstanford]

All that Apple privacy stuff is going nowhere if third party marketing companies can spy so easily

 

[SidricTheViking]

There’s no real advantage to having Background App Refresh turned on. I’ve read that it was there originally to keep apps refreshed so they’d be up to date when we launched them. On all recent iPhones the apps refresh almost instantly as we open them, because of vastly improved silicon and connectivity, I think. I turned this feature off years ago.

(Of course, I could be incorrect about some of this!)

 

[Aeroscout]

I have background data off; mainly to help reserve battery. Does this actually prevent / limit the tracking or does it just queue up a bunch of data until I actually turn the app on later? I wonder?

Very good question. I suspect it simply queues the data.

 

[pubb]

Is it wrong that I care more about paying for cellular data to give up my personal info than giving up my personal info?

 

[NY Guitarist]

Weird. I'd shut off a bunch of them at some point months and months ago, and just re-checked and they're still off. Did you go through a big re-install or something?

No, it was the incremental update to 12.3.1

This has happened before, no idea how though.

 

[thebeans]

This is standard practice since the Web & sophisticated mobile platforms existed. You would always want metadata on user experience with the app (& ways to categorize them) in the background process of the app (ideally away from the main thread as much as possible).

How are apps expected to be better or gleam important info about their users to be a better app + verify the audience they claim to be for is indeed the audience that actually use the app for themselves & ad partners?

Uhh. Yeah. They don’t need to know my phone number, my exact location, my IP address, etc to “improve their app”.

 

[Rogifan]

So did Fowler do this for Android too or does Android not generate enough clicks?

 

[netwalker]

All those apps should clearly specify what they collect, who they share it with for what purpose in their privacy policies (I know barley anyone reads that but at least it is a start). If they do not and don't have the users permission, then at least in Europe that should be violation of GDPR and could result in some nice fines.

If Apple is serious about protecting our privacy, they should test each app, monitor network traffic and reject it if the app does not provide the correct information and ask for consent.

 

[Agit21]

That's why I've disabled Background App Refresh since like three years.

 

[nvmls]

But Timmy said "what happens in iphone stays in iphone" and Timmy would never lie to us. Fake news.

 

[I7guy]

Given the hyperbole around the "superiority" of iOS with regard to privacy and lack of privacy on Android, news like this helps people to better understand the reality of privacy (and lack of it) with devices.

False equivalency. One can control whether an app can for example, gets to your contacts. But once you install an app( program on any platform) you have no control over what gets sent over the wire. Malicious apps are impossible to detect on all platforms. But many apps it’s not possible not to give access to your location.

 

[edgonzalez32]

As if I needed another reason to delete Spotify.

View attachment 839374

Yea this is going to send a message to them.

 

[gavroche]

There’s no real advantage to having Background App Refresh turned on. I’ve read that it was there originally to keep apps refreshed so they’d be up to date when we launched them. On all recent iPhones the apps refresh almost instantly as we open them, because of vastly improved silicon and connectivity, I think. I turned this feature off years ago.

(Of course, I could be incorrect about some of this!)

Wouldn't the purpose be for apps that you don't launch often, but it needs to alert u to something? Like incoming messages. I only launch Whatsapp when someone sends me a message. I wouldn't want to have to launch it often just to check.

 

[JessWinter]

Curious, why would anyone ever want Background App Refresh ON? Literally have never once had it on, and never have missed out on anything...

It's simply a security hole + battery drain.
[doublepost=1559066903][/doublepost]

Wouldn't the purpose be for apps that you don't launch often, but it needs to alert u to something? Like incoming messages. I only launch Whatsapp when someone sends me a message. I wouldn't want to have to launch it often just to check.

Push notifications are completely separate from Background App Refresh

 

[Defthand]

So Apple is lying to us when they show us those stupid “privacy “ commercials on tv? How dare them!

Apple is a master of half-truths. Like courtroom lawyers, they rely on the most ambiguous definitions of their words and hope that listeners assume the literal meaning is the most flattering one.

 

[acpantou]

I am not surprised at all. People interested should read a research article from Oxford University on Android (Google Play app). The article has the following title: "Third Party Tracking in the Mobile Ecosystem" by Reuben Binns, Ulrik Lyngs, Max Van Kleek, Jun Zhao, Timothy Libert and Nigel Shadbolt. The results are pretty dramatic.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.03603

I am putting on the abstract:
Third party tracking allows companies to identify users and track their behaviour across multiple digital services. This paper presents an empirical study of the prevalence of third-party trackers on 959,000 apps from the US and UK Google Play stores. We find that most apps contain third party tracking, and the distribution of trackers is long-tailed with several highly dominant trackers accounting for a large portion of the coverage. The extent of tracking also differs between categories of apps; in particular, news apps and apps targeted at children appear to be amongst the worst in terms of the number of third party trackers associated with them. Third party tracking is also revealed to be a highly trans-national phenomenon, with many trackers operating in jurisdictions outside the EU. Based on these findings, we draw out some significant legal compliance challenges facing the tracking industry.

Concerning the iOS, the article states that "We did not study the Apple iOS App Store because there are no equivalently scalable iOS app collection and analysis methods". I quite sure that the situation should be the roughly the same.

 

[weup togo]

Background-refresh is a red herring. The problem is that Apple knowingly created a race to the bottom app platform where the only profitibility in the vast majority of apps comes from horrifyingly invasive spying by innumerable third parties.

When Tim, Craig, & Phil stand up next week and talk about their commitment to securing your data, the entire audience should laugh loudly. The only possible chance anyone has of reducing this Apple-fostered surveillance is by running something like https://pi-hole.net for their entire network AND vpning home at all times. The second your wireless carrier returns any DNS results, you're toast. Uninstalling the app is the only way to get the device clean again.

 

[Bawstun]

I guess I'm turning off Background App Refresh now. Battery will improve anyway.

I’ve never once used background app refresh since the feature was available in iOS. Not. A. Single. Time.

Why? You can’t wait the 1-2 seconds when switching to an app, for the information to update? Sacrifice battery and security for... 1-2 seconds. Seems stupid.

 

[Rocko99991]

Apple needs to make it so we can opt out of tracking and still have background refresh. If they are truly concerned with privacy they will do this.

 

[Böhme417]

TWC app is extremely frustrating. That app is littered with ads, and background app refresh is doing nothing to update the actual weather information. Every time you open the app, it spends at least 15-20 seconds updating it to your actual location and the weather (even if your location hasn't changed).

 

[Jimmy James]

This is a good reminder. I’ve turned it off.

 

[tkukoc]

And a friendly reminder, apple watch has its own section that lists apps for background refresh. Some are for the watch faces due to the complications. So make sure you check there as well. I see this a lot with apple watch users complaining battery life is horrible.

 

[Ramchi]

Sometimes I used to wonder why my iPhone 7 Plus data usage was way way more than my other mobiles few years back, may be it makes sense to know that there tons and tons of data have been mined ...

 

[EatinPonies]

"Apps Are Using Background App Refresh to Send Data to Tracking Companies"

In response to that headline, I say: No kidding! How else did anybody think they were doing this? This is exactly what I first understood this could be used for, and I haven't been using iPhones that long; just since the 6s. I only allow background data refresh for apps that I "trust" (in quotes because that term is being used VERY loosely).