Unexplained Camera Background Activity

I noticed this morning after looking at the “Battery” section under Settings that from 5 PM to around 830 PM last night my iPhone XS camera reported over 2.5 hours of unexplained background activity. Interestingly, it seemed constant, as I saw the following usage reported:


5-6 I had 1m on screen / 27 m off

6-7 1m on screen / 59m off

7-8 a solid 1hr off screen

8-9 1m on and only 10m off


Before and after this period had no background activity reported, nor have I seen the camera being used in the background like this before. Should I be concerned? I have not downloaded any new apps in weeks, and my phone is NOT jailbroken. Most interestingly is the fact that despite this extensive background usage, the actual percentage of my battery the camera used in that time is only 1%. Since the camera app is power draining by nature, this leads me to think the camera was not actually in use and it may just be a fluke. Regardless, I would greatly appreciate any feedback regarding potential causes for this issue. Thank you in advance.

iPhone XS Max, iOS 13

Posted on May 23, 2020 5:11 AM

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1 reply

May 27, 2020 7:29 AM in response to rascal90

I wanted to “bump” this thread, as well as to add that any feedback regarding camera functionality while running in the background would be appreciated as well (i.e. I read a forum from 2017 claiming the iPhone camera can not function in the background). My biggest concerns are simply if someone has remote access to my camera / photos, though I am also interested to know why I saw this activity (which I have not seen again since).

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Unexplained Camera Background Activity

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