What, precisely, does "using the app" mean?

[pedzsan]

I have an app that connects to my camera. When I take a picture on the camera, the camera asks the iPhone for the GPS location. A pop up came on the iPhone and asked if I want to enable this all the time or just when using the app. My question is, if I start the app and then switch to another app or the iPhone goes to sleep, am I still "using" the app? To rephrase: does the app need to be the active app and does the iPhone need to be awake?

 

[pedzsan]

From my experimentation, it seems that the app does not need to be the currently active app and the phone can be asleep in my back pocket and the camera is still able to geotag the photos. I'm still curious what others think.

 

[Devin Breeding]

I have an app that connects to my camera. When I take a picture on the camera, the camera asks the iPhone for the GPS location. A pop up came on the iPhone and asked if I want to enable this all the time or just when using the app. My question is, if I start the app and then switch to another app or the iPhone goes to sleep, am I still "using" the app? To rephrase: does the app need to be the active app and does the iPhone need to be awake?

I think it needs to be closed out completely and not in the background to be considered using the app. Example, if I order McDonalds for the kids and forget to close the app afterwards, it still shows GPS being used hours later for that application.

 

[Dave-Z]

Apple has a support article that explains the different options:

Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Learn how to turn Location Services and GPS on or off for individual apps.

support.apple.com