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With iOS 13, Apple introduced stricter privacy controls for users, including over location services which now give continuous reminders when a particular app is using their location data in the background. The reminders are sent even if the user sets the access to ‘Always’ for an app. But these new settings are raising concerns among app developers, especially those which rely on location data for their services, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
To give an example of the new reminders, iOS 13 will often prompt users that Google Maps has been accessing their location in the background for say the last two days, and ask them whether they would like to allow this. The notification alert also comes with a map screenshot attached to it showing the location data collected.
WSJ reports that seven app developers wrote an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook raising these concerns back in August, which includes Life360 Inc, an app that lets users track family members, and Tile, which lets users tracking missing items. The worry is that more and more users are blocking access to location data.
The lack of location data also has impacts digital advertising. According to Jason Smith, chief business officer of Location Sciences, “location data gathered by apps while not in use had dropped by 70 per cent since iOS 13 was released.” Smith had earlier told Advertisingweek360, that “location targeting is a big driver for marketer’s advertising on devices” adding that “40 per cent of all mobile spend uses location data.”
Apple on its part said that their “business model” is not built “around knowing a customer’s location or the location of their device,” and created keeping privacy in mind.
In iOS 13, there are more rigid controls over location settings. Apple has always given users the option to control which app has access to their location data, but with iOS 13 it goes a step further. Earlier, the options for location sharing were as follows: Only while using the app, Always Allow and Don’t Allow. When an app requested access to location data, it would show a brief line on what why the app wanted the data along with these three options.
In iOS 13, when an app prompts for access to location data services, the options now stand as: Allow while using the app, Allow Once and Don’t Allow.
The Always Allow option no longer shows when you first open the app and it asks for location data.
The Always option is still there, but for that users have to go to Settings>Privacy> Location Services and click on each individual app.
Still figuring out iOS 13 on your iPhone? Read on to get the five most useful tips from us
If you want to give an app access to your location Always, then you have to tap on it and individually choose this. Not all apps have the ‘Always’ option any more for location settings.
The other options are Never, which is a complete denial of location data, Ask Next Time, which means the next time you open the app it will again ask for location, and While using the app, which means the app can only collect location data when it is in use, and not in the background.
There’s also an app explanation as to why they want a particular bit of data, which is also shown in the privacy settings.
In iOS 13, not only is Apple limiting the collection of location data, it is also periodically reminding users, that a particular app has been continuously tracking their location. The notifications come with map of locations as well, and ask a user if they want to continue with “Always Allow” access for the app.
It also tells users that the app is collecting location data in the background.
For some apps like Google Maps, an ‘Always Allow’ access is better, especially for navigation, real-time traffic updates, etc. Also for apps like Tile, which rely on location data to find their trackers, ‘Always’ is the preferred option.
But the location notices can also serve as a reminder that perhaps it might be time to remove the ‘Always’ option for an app. Apple’s reminders can help even the non-privacy conscious user, take a note of which app has been accessing their location.
If they feel the permission is no longer needed, the notification can help them turn it off instantly.
