Can someone explain in detail what “When using the app” means?

[pedzsan]

I’m guessing there are two settings that may be important here. One is the Background App Refresh and the other is the Location setting for the app. I seem to not be getting consistent results but I’m not sure and I’m wondering if someone can give me a more precise detail of how things should work.

One an app call Camera Connect, it has the ability to update the GPS location as I walk around taking photos. On the outing a few days ago, the Location was set to “While Using the App” and the result was all my photos were tagged with the location of my car — the point at which I started the app. Today I switched it to “Always” and got much better results although I believe it could have been a little better. It seemed to clump photos together within the same exact spot even though I had move a little bit between shots.

And, a similar experience today with an app called GPX Tracker (an open source app). I had it set to “While using the app” and the track log that it recorded had only five points which I believe was the brief time I took while saving the log file at the end of my outing. So the previous hour or so was not recorded. Tomorrow I plan to test it with the setting set to “Always” and see how it goes.

The counter example is an app called eBird. Today in particular I started it and did not look at my phone again during the whole outing. Maybe… it was the foreground app (is that the right term?) but I would rather doubt it. It also creates a track although for some reason they don’t add time stamps. But its track showed the complete path I had taken during the outing. Its Location settings was set to “While Using the App”… (at least I think so… I need to be more precise in my experimentation. I just didn’t expect things to be this weird.)

I try to keep Background App Refresh off for apps unless I can think of a good reason to turn it on. I’m assuming that will save a little bit of battery — perhaps not. But for the three apps just mentioned, I have it enabled. Again… I think I did. I’m never 100% sure of anthing unless I take contemporaneous notes which I didn’t do but I will in the future.

So really the big question I have is, about the Location setting. What exactly does “While Using the App” mean? The app is launched and is the app shown on the screen or does “using the app” simply mean the app has been launched?

Also… in the same quest: did Apple change how these things work with iOS 26 because I’ve been using Camera Connect in particular for a long time and I only just now noticed these issues. Likewise, I’ve used Gaia GPS for a very long time and it has been able to create a track even though it was not the active app on the screen and the Location being set to “While Using the App”.

 

[LouisMac90]

This means when you either have the app open (literally) using it or if for example you was using Google Maps via Carplay so the app is minimized on your iPhone and its being used via the car entertainment system. If you were playing music but you stopped the music and went back to the home screen but didn't fully close the app (as you shouldn't unless the app wasn't responding) it would go into sleep mode so technically you are no longer using the app.

 

[cynics]

'When using the App' means the app is on screen in the foreground.

"Always" means the app can always access location data. There are caveats with 'Always' depending on the app, its lifecycle status, and various triggers that can run the app so it can obtain location data.

"Precise Location" toggled ON grants that app access to GPS data. 'Precise Location' toggled OFF grants the app access to an approximate location based on known wifi and bluetooth locations.

Location data is collected and shared from Apples Core Location framework based on apps location request and its location permissions. Apps don't have direct access to the hardware itself.

You should know that developers have access to an API for background location data during development however the app must require location data for proper functionality (GPS tracking apps, workout apps, navigation apps, etc). 'Always' isn't typically an option if the developer has this background location API toggled on.

If an app has background location API toggled on and doesnt strictly require location data to function properly Apple will reject the app during its review process (camera apps, music apps, shopping apps, etc ie things that can benefit from location but don't require it to function).

I don't know how the camera connect app works. However it if stays on the screen while using it then 'When using the App' and 'Precise location' toggled ON should be fine. However if it goes into the background, phone locks, you switch apps, etc then 'Always' might be a better choice.

Developers are required to add a note under 'location access' to explain why they are requesting a specific permission level.

Background app refresh is heavily policed by iOS. Since iOS is so oppressive with background app refresh turning things off has negligible effects to performance and battery. Frequency of use plays a big role, if you never use an app it will rarely get the opportunity to refresh in the background. Triggers play a role like significant location changes, wifi connected, charging, etc (this is when an app knows its best to sync/backup data). Schedule of app use plays a role, for example refreshing weather data in the morning if you check it every morning. Useful apps use it in useful ways, useless apps use it in useless ways, since I never use social media apps I have it off for them but since I never use them and the apps are closed its unlikely they get too much time with Background app refresh anyway.

 

[macher]

'When using the App' means the app is on screen in the foreground.

"Always" means the app can always access location data. There are caveats with 'Always' depending on the app, its lifecycle status, and various triggers that can run the app so it can obtain location data.

"Precise Location" toggled ON grants that app access to GPS data. 'Precise Location' toggled OFF grants the app access to an approximate location based on known wifi and bluetooth locations.

Location data is collected and shared from Apples Core Location framework based on apps location request and its location permissions. Apps don't have direct access to the hardware itself.

You should know that developers have access to an API for background location data during development however the app must require location data for proper functionality (GPS tracking apps, workout apps, navigation apps, etc). 'Always' isn't typically an option if the developer has this background location API toggled on.

If an app has background location API toggled on and doesnt strictly require location data to function properly Apple will reject the app during its review process (camera apps, music apps, shopping apps, etc ie things that can benefit from location but don't require it to function).

I don't know how the camera connect app works. However it if stays on the screen while using it then 'When using the App' and 'Precise location' toggled ON should be fine. However if it goes into the background, phone locks, you switch apps, etc then 'Always' might be a better choice.

Developers are required to add a note under 'location access' to explain why they are requesting a specific permission level.

Background app refresh is heavily policed by iOS. Since iOS is so oppressive with background app refresh turning things off has negligible effects to performance and battery. Frequency of use plays a big role, if you never use an app it will rarely get the opportunity to refresh in the background. Triggers play a role like significant location changes, wifi connected, charging, etc (this is when an app knows its best to sync/backup data). Schedule of app use plays a role, for example refreshing weather data in the morning if you check it every morning. Useful apps use it in useful ways, useless apps use it in useless ways, since I never use social media apps I have it off for them but since I never use them and the apps are closed its unlikely they get too much time with Background app refresh anyway.

About background app refresh. I had many apps that were running in the background that I hardly use or haven’t used in weeks. Some were 5% of battery usage. Was wondering why my battery wasn’t that great. I found out this was the reason and now I’m back to “normal”.