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App data useage trickery

I noticed not long ago a bit of trickery being used by apple and apps when it comes to an app being able to access your data. Dont know if this is well known or not, might not have been searching the right key words.


Anyway, after downloading an app, before I use it I go to its settings to turn on or off anything I dont want, also check the data to turn it off. If I check either the app settings or data settings, 99.5% of the time, there is no data usage toggle switch to allow or block an app from accessing data. But, once I run the app for the first time, then go back to settings, the data usage toggle is there and is turned on.


I've tried turning cellular data off and running the app, and the usage toggle is not there, but once I turn data back on, the toggle appears. Apple has made it basically impossible to stop apps from accessing your data. I'm sure even if you turn data off within seconds of being able to, whatever data the app was accessing was already accessed and sent. This sort of thing is really irritating to me, and stinks to high heaven that Apple would allow such things. Your data is clearly more important than your privacy.


The attached pic shows a before and after. The app had just been installed, when run without cellular on, theres no data toggle switch (left). Once cellular has been turned on, the toggle switch appears (right). Ridiculous.


User uploaded file

iPhone 5, iOS 6.1.4, Gateway comp, Windows 7

Posted on May 22, 2015 4:05 PM

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1 reply

May 22, 2015 4:16 PM in response to microbuilder

If you want to give feedback to Apple, use the feedback page:


http://www.apple.com/feedback


I'm not a developer but I would hazard a guess that the phone may need to get a request from the app to use data before it knows that it needs to use data. Once that occurs, it gives you the option to turn data off. I find it hard to imagine that, if you launch the app then turn the cellular data off, you could be using very much data. The exception to this would be ad supported apps. Avoid them when at all possible.

App data useage trickery

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