Why So Many Apps Are Asking to Use Bluetooth

September 24, 2019
2 min read

Privacy became somewhat of a theme here, so continuing on this subject – with the release of iOS 13, a lot of apps are asking for the permission to use Bluetooth. Among them are Netflix, YouTube, Waze, Spotify and of course Facebook.

When it asks for the permission, in the little explanation there is it usually tells, that it will help connecting to other Bluetooth devices. Especially with media apps, users could think, that it is necessary to listen through Bluetooth headphones or speakers, but it has nothing to do with that.

Developers have access to those via other means and don’t need permissions for those. The real reason they ask for Bluetooth is location tracking. Using the Bluetooth and WiFi devices around you, app can figure out your location pretty accurately.

This has been happening for quite some time, but only this year Apple added the ability to disallow the permission. It probably tells you something that a lot of developers pulled this functionality from their apps during beta process.

The one legitimate use I did find, was for navigation apps, like Waze. They use Bluetooth in tunnels to navigate you where there is no GPS and mobile signal. But if like me, you live in a place without any tunnels even in farther proximity, you can safely deny the prompt.

Facebook And Location Tracking In iOS 13

September 19, 2019
2 min read

As we’ve seen last week with Spotify, the use of location tracking can be explained with business interest – they want users to stop abusing the Family Premium plan. What Facebook is doing after all the scandals it had with our data, is unexplainable.

In the recent Newsroom article titled “Understanding Updates to Your Device’s Location Settings”, the social network company explains how updates to Android and iOS will prevent them from abusing the constant location tracking.

Facebook is better with location. It powers features like check-ins and makes planning events easier. It helps improve ads and keep you and the Facebook community safe. Features like Find Wi-Fi and Nearby Friends use precise location even when you’re not using the app to make sure that alerts and tools are accurate and personalized for you.

Just read the fucking quote. Facebook tracking your location to keep you safe. How delirious are they? Article further explains, that now there will be the ability in OS to allow location sharing with the app only once and if the app is tracking your location in the background with the app closed, iOS will prompt you with notification, showing map of the location data and explanation why the app uses it (to keep you safe, of course).

This article shows how bad these changes are for Facebook. Right now location tracking is the best data they can get on users. Knowing where you’ve been can give a lot of insights. Which neighborhood do you live in, where do you work, which type of restaurants you go to, if you are sick, how often do you travel. All of this information can be gathered using the background location tracking, without users even noticing.

I’m glad both Google and Apple are making changes to the location tracking in theirs OS’s. I’m sure Facebook will find a way to track it anyway, they say so in the article:

We may still understand your location using things like check-ins, events and information about your internet connection.

This article shows how out of touch Facebook is, but the more scary thing is – people believe them. I hope those changes will educate people more on the type of data they are sending to those companies.