Resolved Remove Fitbit from app switcher

[Nermal]

Hi everyone,

Today I double-tapped Home on my iPhone 6 and found an extra bar at the bottom that "belongs" to the Fitbit app. It has the Fitbit icon, the caption "Fitbit" and the text "Good afternoon, (my name)". Tapping it launches the Fitbit app. I haven't been into the Fitbit settings in quite some time so I'm not sure why this has suddenly popped up today.

I don't need "special" access to the Fitbit app but I can't figure out how to make this bar go away. Does anyone know what it's called or how to get rid of it?

Thanks

 

[comics addict]

Hi everyone,

Today I double-tapped Home on my iPhone 6 and found an extra bar at the bottom that "belongs" to the Fitbit app. It has the Fitbit icon, the caption "Fitbit" and the text "Good afternoon, (my name)". Tapping it launches the Fiutbit app. I haven't been into the Fitbit settings in quite some time so I'm not sure why this has suddenly popped up today.

I don't need "special" access to the Fitbit app but I can't figure out how to make this bar go away. Does anyone know what it's called or how to get rid of it?

Thanks

That is part of the proactive assistant feature on iOS 9. When it says "good afternoon" means you may have use the fitbit app recurrently around that timeframe since updating to iOS 9. Can't find another way of getting rid of it except for not using the fitbit app during that timeframe or frequently using another app in its place during the evening to make it learn your new pattern.

 

[C DM]

As I recall it's part of the suggested apps that iOS can sometimes provide on the lock screen and/or in the app switcher--some discussion of it all at https://www.macrumors.com/2015/08/11/proactive-suggestions-ios-9-closer-look/. I believe the way to disable it would be to follow along with what's at mentioned at http://osxdaily.com/2015/04/18/turn-off-suggested-apps-ios/.

 

[Nermal]

Thanks; that sorted it out. I don't think I've ever launched an app from the lock screen so I won't be missing anything by turning Suggested Apps off.

It's interesting that I've never seen any other app do it (I've been running iOS 9 since launch). Doubly interesting because it is most definitely not my most frequently-used app at this time of day!

 

[C DM]

Thanks; that sorted it out. I don't think I've ever launched an app from the lock screen so I won't be missing anything by turning Suggested Apps off.

It's interesting that I've never seen any other app do it (I've been running iOS 9 since launch). Doubly interesting because it is most definitely not my most frequently-used app at this time of day!

Interestingly enough, I think it's even been there since iOS 8 days, but I'm not completely sure on the actual "logic" (or perhaps lack of, at least at times) that's really behind it (and have those things turned off on my devices as well from the beginning pretty much).

 

[lagwagon]

Interestingly enough, I think it's even been there since iOS 8 days, but I'm not completely sure on the actual "logic" (or perhaps lack of, at least at times) that's really behind it (and have those things turned off on my devices as well from the beginning pretty much).

Definitely has not been there since iOS 8. What the OP was seeing is the iOS 9 Proactive app suggestions. Which wasn't available in iOS 8 since it wasn't a thing until iOS 9.

 

[C DM]

Definitely has not been there since iOS 8. What the OP was seeing is the iOS 9 Proactive app suggestions. Which wasn't available in iOS 8 since it wasn't a thing until iOS 9.

Except that suggested apps were there since iOS 8 together with Handoff (the settings section for it all was even referenced as "Handoff & Suggested Apps"): http://appleinsider.com/articles/15...doff-feature-between-your-ios-devices-and-mac. (Even the linked article that talks about how to disabled them, at http://osxdaily.com/2015/04/18/turn-off-suggested-apps-ios/, is about iOS 8 and published before anything about iOS 9 was even publicized). Perhaps how it looks in some places and some logic behind it got updated/modified/expanded in iOS 9, but the underlying feature seems to have been there since iOS 8.

 

[lagwagon]

Except that suggested apps were there since iOS 8 together with Handoff (the settings section for it all was even referenced as "Handoff & Suggested Apps"): http://appleinsider.com/articles/15...doff-feature-between-your-ios-devices-and-mac. (Even the linked article that talks about how to disabled them, at http://osxdaily.com/2015/04/18/turn-off-suggested-apps-ios/, is about iOS 8 and published before anything about iOS 9 was even publicized). Perhaps how it looks in some places and some logic behind it got updated/modified/expanded in iOS 9, but the underlying feature seems to have been there since iOS 8.

I don't think there were many apps at all (or any outside of Apple Store) that took advantage of it in iOS 8. The only example it did anything in iOS 8 that I know of is if you were near an Apple Store, the Apple Store app would show up on the lock screen.

What iOS 9 does is learn behaviours and suggests apps based on that. Since iOS 9 I've had Mail app show up with the same "Good Morning". This is what is new about it for iOS 9. (Just like if you plug in headphones, Music app will show up on the lock screen/app switcher.) iOS 8 could never do any of that.

 

[C DM]

I don't think there were many apps at all (or any outside of Apple Store) that took advantage of it in iOS 8. The only example it did anything in iOS 8 that I know of is if you were near an Apple Store, the Apple Store app would show up on the lock screen.

What iOS 9 does is learn behaviours and suggests apps based on that. Since iOS 9 I've had Mail app show up with the same "Good Morning". This is what is new about it for iOS 9. (Just like if you plug in headphones, Music app will show up on the lock screen/app switcher.) iOS 8 could never do any of that.

Perhaps, as I mentioned, things got expanded/improved with iOS 9, but the underlying ability and controls to display a suggested app on the lock screen and in the app switcher seems to have been there since the iOS 8 days.

That said, the main thing is that it seems the issue/question in this thread got figured out, so that's good.

 

[Nermal]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread (especially since it's technically in the wrong forum now), but can anyone advise where this option has moved to in iOS 10? I now have Hangouts "stuck" in the bottom of the switcher with either "Arrived at home" or "Arrived at work" and the option is no longer under Settings/iTunes & App Store.

 

[C DM]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread (especially since it's technically in the wrong forum now), but can anyone advise where this option has moved to in iOS 10? I now have Hangouts "stuck" in the bottom of the switcher with either "Arrived at home" or "Arrived at work" and the option is no longer under Settings/iTunes & App Store.

I think this came up in one of the iOS 10 beta threads, but I don't quite recall the details. You might be better off asking in the iOS GM or beta 8 thread or perhaps another thread in the iOS 10 forum as more people would likely be familiar with iOS 10 changes there.

 

[Nermal]

No rush, so I'll see what happens; this thread has all the context so it saves explaining everything again

 

[C DM]

No rush, so I'll see what happens; this thread has all the context so it saves explaining everything again

There's certainly that. Perhaps someone will some iOS 10 knowledge will stumble upon this.
[doublepost=1473313270][/doublepost]Well, I searched around a bit myself a I remember coming across something about it all in some iOS 10 threads, but what I mostly came across is some talk from various people about controls for this kind of thing no longer being there in iOS 10, generally under the Handoff section where they used to be. So it doesn't quite seem like this has been figured out really in iOS 10 in the discussions about it here.

I did come across a blog sort of related to this which seems like it might be with a shot: http://www.***************/disable-apps-show-locked-screen-iphone-suggestions-ios-10/

 

[Nermal]

Somewhat frustratingly, the bar has now gone away on its own. If it comes back then I'll take a look at that blog post.

 

[Nermal]

It's come back, and none of the options under Spotlight Search affect it.

 

[lagwagon]

It's come back, and none of the options under Spotlight Search affect it.

The "bar" you're seeing at the bottom of the app switcher are Proactive/Siri suggested apps. It's all based off apps you've previously used at those times of day and day of the week. That's why you're seeing it appear and disappear.

 

[C DM]

The "bar" you're seeing at the bottom of the app switcher are Proactive/Siri suggested apps. It's all based off apps you've previously used at those times of day and day of the week. That's why you're seeing it appear and disappear.

I think that's basically understood based on earlier discussion. However there used to be a way to disable these kinds of things before iOS 10, while now with iOS 10 those options don't seem to be there any longer.

 

[lagwagon]

I think that's basically understood based on earlier discussion. However there used to be a way to disable these kinds of things before iOS 10, while now with iOS 10 those options don't seem to be there any longer.

Haven't tested it, but try turning off Location Based Suggestions in System Services.

 

[C DM]

Haven't tested it, but try turning off Loacation Based Suggestions in System Services.

Yeah, agreed, something in System Services is probably another thing that's worth a try.

 

[Nermal]

It's disappeared on its own accord again (I guess it appears for X hours after going home or to work) but I'll take a look around in System Services next time I see it.

 

[C DM]

It's disappeared on its own accord again (I guess it appears for X hours after going home or to work) but I'll take a look around in System Services next time I see it.

It sounds like it would be (for the most part at least) either location and/or time based basically.

 

[Nermal]

I have turned off everything in System Services apart from Find My iPhone, and it's still there.

 

[Nermal]

I think I've figured this out; it seems that you need to turn off Frequent Locations and then reboot the phone (when testing earlier, I hadn't rebooted). I won't know for sure until I go out, but it's looking promising so far.

Edit: This does indeed seem to have fixed it