If my iPhone 7 provides any indication, the geofence is not always immediate (which makes me think it's an intermittent check on location). I'll set reminders for when I get home - sometimes they go off when I'm pulling up to the driveway, sometimes I'm already inside the house before I'm reminded.
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Location blue bar at top, always on! Horrible!
- Thread starter wylhkg
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I think I might have read something about geofencing using cell tower location data and Wi-Fi data when possible to reduce GPS usage...?
So it might trade off exact location accuracy for battery life...
I can see that being the case.
I gave up worrying long ago about location/background services eating battery life. I figure the difference in my daily use might be an hour of battery life max, and I tend to plug in sporadically throughout the day anyway, not to mention overnight. I rarely see less than 60% battery on my iPhone.
Personally, I can only see this "blue bar" thing in one light, and that is Apple using this to 'shame' app developers into following the guidelines that Apple prefers be followed.
That is my understanding, that it uses a combination of all three (wifi, cell tower info, and intermittent GPS), though the technical details are a secret sauce. When I wrote a test geofencing app and loaded it on my phone, it seemed to pop up the "You are at <location x>" notice fairly promptly when I arrived at a designation location. But I'm not sure exactly how big the <location x> perimeter was, so I can't say for sure whether it was 3 seconds or 15 seconds.
I believe you are correct. It reflects badly on Apple when apps make the phone perform badly or compromise privacy in a way the customer doesn't understand (e.g. Uber).
That's the main reason the "horrible" blue bar doesn't bother me. I have no misbehaving apps on my phone. The only apps I have that generate the blue bar are mapping or exercise apps that do require constant GPS usage.
Hopefully two small additions:
1. When you click on the blue bar, give the option to change the setting. It's confusing for new users
2. Give the option to allow an app to run in the background tracking your location without showing the blue bar. (Add appropriate warnings to the potential risks)
1. When you click on the blue bar, give the option to change the setting. It's confusing for new users
2. Give the option to allow an app to run in the background tracking your location without showing the blue bar. (Add appropriate warnings to the potential risks)
I agree that they should give an app-by-app option to not show the blue bar, but I would put it with the other app-by-app location settings. There is room to add a toggle underneath the Never, While App is Active, Always options. A user advanced enough to find the setting there would be advanced enough to understand the trade-offs.
I would not hide a user-interface element under the blue bar. Switching to the "offending" app, as it currently does, seems like the right behavior.
Oh yeah, definitely agree it belongs in the app-by-app location settings. AND I think there should be an obvious way to get to those settings from the blue bar. As you say, switching to the app is counter-intuitive and doesn't help you address the problem at all.
Actually, I think switching to the app generating the blue bar is the intuitive and proper UI behavior. I doubt that will change. It's consistent with switching to the phone app when you're on a call, and it's generating the green bar. (On the other hand, tapping on the "other blue bar" shown when another device is connected to an iPhone's hotspot does take you to the connection sharing pane in Settings, since there is no app involved.)
And I believe that switching to the location-using app does help me deal with the blue bar. If an app is using my location, I'm likely to want to do one of three things: switch back to using it actively, switch back to it and make it stop tracking, or kill it. The first two require switching to the app.
‘While Using’ also has the banner up there. The first time I saw it I tried going to “Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Status Bar Icon” which was toggled off for some reason after updating. It stopped the blue bar for a while and later it just returned. Now toggling it off and on has no effect on the bar. Sweatcoin is annoying the hell out of me!
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What about Sweatcoin?
Apple Maps displays similar behavior while navigating in iOS 10 - the blue bar stays active and I can quickly switch back to it. I see that as natural and expected behavior - being how things should work.
Yeah but what if you’re using an app like Sweatcoin which tracks your location and your movement to figure out your outdoor step count. I don’t want that blue bar to bug me all day and push down the app I’m currently using.
I've never heard of Sweatcoin, but if it tracks your exact location all day long, it should show the blue bar. The blue bar is there to tell you that tracking your exact location all day long is a very bad idea from both a battery standpoint and a privacy standpoint. Most fitness apps use other sensors to track movement all day or GPS to track location/pace during specific workouts. GPS is not appropriate for always-on tracking.
When I had installed Public Beta 1 on my iPhone 7 earlier, I recall the Facebook and Google apps (which request “always” location access) sporadically making the blue bar appear across the top of the screen when I wasn’t using those apps. Now under the Settings>>Privacy>>Location Services section, they show as using geofencing (the outline GPS arrow instead of the filled in one) and the blue bar isn’t popping up.
I’m not sure if those apps are now less accurate but it seems they were updated in anticipation of the iOS 11 shaming they were going to receive.
This is very obnoxious using the Tile app for the bluetooth trackers to know where your keys and/or wallet are. Pretty much any time I'm in a car driving/riding somewhere, I'm stuck with the blue bar at the top, and Apple has not done a good job of making their apps adjust for that location bar in iOS 11. Things get pushed down, the text box at the bottom of the Messages app is partially off screen. It's an obnoxious and intrusive solution to something that wasn't really a problem.
As people have said above, this is the beta, so this feature may become obsolete or at least less annoying. Also, Sweatcoin is an app that rewards you for walking outside with sweatcoins which you can use to redeem real life rewards. The app is by Amazon, which ensures complete and total privacy. There is a battery saving mode which states you will lose some steps, however I don't encounter any battery problems. If you want to learn more go to http://sweatco.in and if you want to sign up, use my link at http://sweatco.in/i/keef_khan
+1 I suspect a lot of apps will be cleaning up their act, as intended. Apps like Facebook, Google (non-maps), and weather apps shouldn't be tracking your location constantly. They can use geofencing to trigger location updates when you move from one area to another, schedule intermittent location checks, or update upon foregrounding.
I guess I need to amend this. Both Facebook and Google apps started intermittently throwing a brief blue bar while driving a few hours today, I had to switch both apps to “while using.”
Edit: and even though I have Waze set to “while using” it throws the blue bar after I leave the app. If I force close the app it goes away until I open it again. Any idea how long that is allowed to last after leaving the app? I understand “while using” to mean actively using - this lasted at least 10 minutes after I closed Waze. Is there some sort of release time? Or do I have to force close every time I leave the app even when setting location services to “while using?”
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I can think of a benefit to this that hasn't been mentioned. First, note that Waze doesn't currently (pre–iOS 11) trigger the blue bar – even when it's actively routing in the background – for whatever reason (Apple Maps and Google Maps both do).
Now, if you're navigating with Waze and take a call, you end up on the (black) "call in progress" screen, with no easy way to switch back to Waze (you have to use the task switcher, which isn't ideal when driving). Apple doesn't include the "back to previous app" arrow at the top left of the call screen (I think b/c that arrow obscured the signal-strength bars before iOS 10); I've griped about that oversight in other threads. But it sounds like Waze will now trigger the blue bar, and we'll be able to tap that bar to quickly return to Waze.
Now, if you're navigating with Waze and take a call, you end up on the (black) "call in progress" screen, with no easy way to switch back to Waze (you have to use the task switcher, which isn't ideal when driving). Apple doesn't include the "back to previous app" arrow at the top left of the call screen (I think b/c that arrow obscured the signal-strength bars before iOS 10); I've griped about that oversight in other threads. But it sounds like Waze will now trigger the blue bar, and we'll be able to tap that bar to quickly return to Waze.
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I hate the blue bar. Its constantly on for me and negatively impacts my use of the iPhone. Why oh why can't they have a switch to disable it. I am not paranoid about my location being known. If I was, I wouldn't have a mobile phone of any type.
I do assume that all the people here who have voiced their negative thoughts on the "blue location on bar" have also voiced their opinion on the Feedback app so that Apple actually knows of your displeasure. If not they have no idea of what you want as they do not visit sites like this as part of their research of beta programs.
Yeah... except it’s NOT a bug. Apple has very intentionally done this to shame developers into not misusing location data, and to train users to change their location settings.
I sure hope they allow a way to turn this off because it is INCREDIBLY annoying.
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What are you talking about? Some apps need location services to function. There is nothing the developer needs to do, Apple just needs to give users a way to turn off the annoying blue bar.
I've explained the different ways to use location services a few times. You can re-read the thread.
Bottom line: Very few apps need to use the constant-location-tracking mode that triggers the blue bar. If an app other than a real-time mapping app (e.g., Waze) or real-time exercise tracker is triggering the blue bar in the background, then the app is "doing it wrong." Weather apps, home security apps, step-counting apps, retail store apps, social media apps, etc. should not trigger the blue bar.
The problem with the arrow is that it's pretty much always on these days, at least in its hollow form. With so many apps using geofencing, the hollow arrow is ubiquitous. It may flash solid momentarily when an app checks location in the background, but it's not anything you're likely to notice. Apps can use location services in multiple ways, but let's put them in three categories: geofencing, intermittent location checks, real-time tracking. (Geofencing is far more capable than the name implies, and it is what Apple is pushing developers to use in most cases.) The blue bar is for real-time tracking, a resource-intensive and privacy-sensitive operation that should only be engaged in knowingly and for a limited time (e.g., during a commute or during a workout). As I've said repeatedly, if you have an app that is triggering the blue bar all the time, it's "doing it wrong."
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If you don't mind my asking, what app is triggering the constant blue bar? I'm curious whether it's a category of app I haven't thought of or a badly-designed app.
I’m not sure who asked for this problem to be solved in the form of a blue bar/button/borderline forced call to action at the top of the UI but considering the arrow’s intended use for years hasn’t changed nor been a major complaint about IOS, this seems like its to solve apples problem more than the primary users problem.
After 24 hours of use this is getting crazy annoying.
What app is triggering it for you? I only see it if I background Waze. I use my Watch for workouts, and I don't have any other apps that use real-time positioning in the background. Even PokemonGo doesn't use real-time positioning in the background and doesn't trigger the blue bar.
I like it because it reminds me if I leave Waze open consuming resources and allows me to quickly return to Waze by tapping on the blue bar if I briefly switch to something else while I'm driving.