Apple Requiring Developers to Disclose Location Sharing and Dating Features in Apps

And while they're at it, Apple should also enforce the background disable option for real now. Many apps still have options to bypass this so the app can track user activity, location, pushing ads updates and so on. Meta is using this extensively, the main reason why our iPad and iPhone batteries are drained so fast even when their apps are not open.

Meta is using this extensively, the main reason why our iPad and iPhone batteries are drained so fast even when their apps are not open.

An easy way to keep Meta apps from running in the background and doing nefarious things is, don't run any Meta apps.

If you had kids, you’d probably enable the feature where they need to ask you before they download anything. You’d check what it is they want to download, see in the store description that it tracks location, then reject it. This feature is being added for parents that don’t care to be engaged with their children.

“Hey, Apple, my child’s safety is VERY important, so I need you to do everything in YOUR power to protect them. Me? Oh, I can’t stand the lil’ ankle biters. Yes I HAD them, but that was to keep the marriage together… and because everyone else was having them and I didn’t want to be left out. But, yeah, I have noooooo time for managing or even paying attention to my kids. BUT an Apple device keeps ‘em quiet, so I’m giving them that and I’m connecting my card to it because I don’t want to hear them asking me to download stuff… I just need YOU Apple, to protect them from things I don’t want them to have. No, I actually don’t know what I don’t want them to have, haven’t thought about it really, but If I see something I DON’T like I’m going to the news media with it so… do your job.”

I'm not sure why you're arguing this feature as being a bad thing.

Does it directly affect you in some way? Do you not want this to be a feature?

I’m surprised it took this long, if I had kids I would definitely want to know these things about an app I let them use. Good job Apple 👏🏻

If you had kids, you’d probably enable the feature where they need to ask you before they download anything. You’d check what it is they want to download, see in the store description that it tracks location, then reject it. This feature is being added for parents that don’t care to be engaged with their children.

“Hey, Apple, my child’s safety is VERY important, so I need you to do everything in YOUR power to protect them. Me? Oh, I can’t stand the lil’ ankle biters. Yes I HAD them, but that was to keep the marriage together… and because everyone else was having them and I didn’t want to be left out. But, yeah, I have noooooo time for managing or even paying attention to my kids. BUT an Apple device keeps ‘em quiet, so I’m giving them that and I’m connecting my card to it because I don’t want to hear them asking me to download stuff… I just need YOU Apple, to protect them from things I don’t want them to have. No, I actually don’t know what I don’t want them to have, haven’t thought about it really, but If I see something I DON’T like I’m going to the news media with it so… do your job.”

I’m surprised it took this long, if I had kids I would definitely want to know these things about an app I let them use. Good job Apple 👏🏻

You can:
Check your privacy settings within the service;
Disallow background app refresh;
Deny location sharing or use coarser one;
Ask app not to track;
Switch on the low power mode;
Close the app in the App Switcher;
Turn off the network when not using (at night for instance);
Uninstall the app and use the website;
Use an ad-blocking DNS;
Use a firewall app;
…

Sounds logical, but most of them are circumvented. Of course turning off the network for most people isn't an option when it's their only phone (no landline). And not every platform has a webversion of their app, and if they do they always tone the experience down to lure people back to the app.

Look, even with "Background App Refresh" turned off, massive apps like Facebook, TikTok, and Google can still run in the dark by using built-in system exceptions designed for essential phone functions. They actively use three specific methods to consume your battery.

* Notification Extensions: The moment a notification is sent to your phone (even if it's silenced), Apple grants the app a few seconds to process it. Apps use this tiny window to sync data and track activity. Including determining your location using network addresses, cellular ID's etc.
* VoIP/Calling Triggers: Apps disguise parts of their code as internet calling services, allowing them to bypass regular restrictions so they can run background tasks under the guise of an "incoming call."
* Exit Window Delays: When you minimize an app, it is given a brief grace period to save your progress. Heavy apps intentionally drag out this window to upload tracking logs and analytics back to their servers.

More on this here. ('https://medium.com/@bhumibhuva18/how-ios-is-quietly-killing-your-apps-background-life-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-6fa02264dd83')

Thanks for the prompt. Amongst other Meta products I just noticed WhatsApp scans my contacts every hour!

Quite honestly I don’t if shutting this access breaks apps, I can’t see that’s a legitimate use.

Privacy & Security under Settings is your friend!

Turn it off. Meta does indeed scrape your whole iOS contacts list and saves it on their cloud "for your... ahum... their convenience". They say it is anonymised... sure, as if Meta and Google never lied before.
If using WhatsApp is really necessary, then keep a tight selection of contacts. It doesn't matter if Meta cloud sync is on or off, the app will send all your data anyway. Every time I gave my number to someone for normal calls, and they had WhatsApp installed I get probed by Meta again. Either with spam via SMS or other ways. Similar things happened in the past when someone added my email to their Hotmail addressbook.