Wallet app keeps accessing contacts

I do not use Apple Wallet. I deleted the icon on my phone because I have NEVER used it, but unfortunately I can't actually delete the app itself. I am seeing the exact same thing this person is! Apple Wallet, an app I DO NOT USE, is accessing my contacts EVERY DAY. Can someone please give me an actual answer as to how to stop it?

edit: calendar is also accessing my contacts several times a day. BTW, neither Wallet nor Calender appear on the list of apps that have requested permission to access my contacts, nor have I ever given either of them permission to access my contacts. I don't like this.

Ferd Burfle wrote:

Also agree! THIS IS A BLATANT INVASION OF PRIVACY!!!

In what way? How is an app that only resides on your phone accessing data on your phone invading your privacy? The data is not leaving your phone.

You can’t delete the Wallet app. And what would be the point of “preventing” it? It’s all your data on your phone. No one else can see it.

BTW it’s all been turned off in my privacy settings so please don’t go there. I want the app gone is what I want.

I am having the same issue. I have gone through all the settings changed all to not allow but yet it’s still accessing my contacts. Hmmm

I rarely use Wallet​. And yet it access my contacts every day

Omar, the Wallet app is one that cannot be deleted→Delete built-in Apple apps on your iOS 12 or later device or Apple Watch - Apple Support

Agreed! APPLE: What the ****??? Why aren’t any of your CSR’s addressing this issue???

Also agree! THIS IS A BLATANT INVASION OF PRIVACY!!!

NotTomBrady wrote:

With iCloud it is.

There is no Wallet App on iCloud.com.

I just went through four layers of support at Apple and no one knows why this is happening. Not only is my wallet accessing my contacts but several other apps as well, two of which have no discernible reason for doing so. My support request was logged as a complaint and someone may get back to me in a few days. If enough people contact support, perhaps they would lol devote the resources es to fixing or at least explaining it.

I am a software Engineer but I do not work for Apple in any way. I will take a stab (guess) at what is likely going on here.

An app like Wallet needs data such as contacts to allow a user to send money to another apple user. The app will likely load contacts by default on startup, regardless of whether you use wallet to pay others or not.

And for 3rd party apps, the wallet API may be used by those apps to make secure transactions between your card info and the other user. So the Wallet app needs a list of your contacts, and it also needs to refresh this data periodically in case you add a new contact. Apple developed the Wallet app this way, without any options to turn off 3rd party pay access through the Wallet API. To turn this off in wallet will require a change request to be submitted. In my opinion, this is how Apple protects your card info, by securing it and o Lu allowing payments Tok own contacts. It’s a good thing not a bad thing.

sure, apple could fetch the whole contact data from contacts at the time a transaction is accessed via the Wallet API, but large data fetches are time consuming. They likely only check for a delta between the original load of data and any new contact data. Dara usually has a time stamp of when it was added or modified, and this check is likely done in the background where it is not time sensitive such as when a user is impatiently waiting on a transaction to complete.