OneUI 7 Constant Location Access

[PSmitty]

Others online have mentioned this and now I know I'm not crazy. Since the OneUI7 update my phone and tablet say that Google play services are constantly accessing my location. There could be a variety of factors to this on a phone, but on my wifi only tablet this was never an issue until OneUI7.

 

Anyone else experiencing this?

 

EDIT: I did more digging on this with a OneUI6.1 device to see if I could understand the difference here. For future readers, if you notice this too here's what I was able to dig up. I still think Samsung/Google need to align on improving 'this'.

 

TLDR: We need to be able to pick which apps/services show the location indicator

Pre-Android 15 (OneUI6.2, etc.)

• (Since android 10) there was/is a "location in use" icon (). From what I've gathered this mostly appeared when apps tried to get the current location (not cached location) of the device AND the application was active/foreground or very recently used. This did not trigger on system applications/services (google play services, continuity, phone, etc.)
• This is what we were used to seeing, but we didn't see it often except when we expected to (navigation, etc)
• "Phone Services" wouldn't trigger the location indicator because it's a system service that runs in the background

Android 15 (OneUI7)

• Location indicator is now green and colorful
• Location reporting in Android 15 now includes ALL system applications/services, AND any  background requests for the current location (which increases the number of apps that will be reported as using your location) 
• "Phone Services" and all other services that didn't trigger this icon before, trigger the icon now

This is what's causing confusion, you likely aren't being tracked any more than you were before, but your phone is now telling you everything that's tracking you including services in the background. Most people weren't told GPS/location indicator was fundamentally changing. Nor is it in any feature/change/update list I can find anywhere for OneUI7 or Android 15 (seriously, Google it)

Even still, this isn't ideal in it's current state:

• This "full transparency indicator" is nice, but if it's on essentially 24/7, we need a way to hide services/apps that make it appear. An indicator that's 'always on' because of background services that you can't disable is arguably pointless altogether. I'm not going to tap the indicator every few minutes to see if something other than "services" is using my location. The usefulness of a real-time indicator is thwarted if it's basically always on.
• "Phone Services" constantly uses (my) location when "Location" is enabled in quick settings
  • You also can't revoke location permissions from it (greyed out), which suggests it's required
  • HOWEVER - If you disable location altogether in quick settings, "phone services" no longer accesses the location (and the green location indicator goes away), and yet, my phone, messages, etc. still all work.
  • If you look at the permissions for the Phone "app", location can be disabled, which is probably also confusing people trying to turn off location for "phone services" (yes, apps and services are different, I know, many don't though)

Aside from being able to just 'mute' phone services location updates, this "required but not actually necessary" location permission for phone services is clear as mud.

[Robin621k]

Not a serious person.

Phone services, he does realize it needs location so his phone knows what tower to use.

[PSmitty]

That's actually not how cellphones work at all, but sure, resort to calling me a troll, that's productive.

[PSmitty]

So, if I turn my location off completely via quickpanel, phone services 'stops using my location', why am I able to make a call?

[Robin621k]

Phone services, you are kidding right!

[Robin621k]

This was "ALWAYS" happening in the background, now you get to see it .

[PSmitty]

If that's the case, then concedes that Samsung was deceitful by not informing users that their location was being accessed without their knowledge for years, which is horrifying

Or, this is incorrect.

Even still, it would defeat the purpose of informing users that their location is being accessed if it's constantly happening and they have no control over it (hence the point of informing them in the first place and giving them the ability to see what apps are doing it) other than turning off their location completely, which hinders critical functionality for a lot of users.

Most users shouldn't have to agree to share their location all the time or manually turn it on every time they want to navigate somewhere. If this is Samsung's position I'm switching all my devices immediately and is borderline grounds for a massive privacy infringement claim.

[Robin621k]

The horrors!

[realaud]

How are they deceitful?  There's a page full of legal documents in settings that you had to agree to while setting up your device.  That you did not read them, is no one's fault but your own.  You, and only you, grant apps location permission.  You can turn off permissions in any app, but fair warning, most will not work without those permissions.  You own a phone - an electronic tracking device by it's very nature - and you are concerned about tracking?  Make sense, guy.

[PSmitty]

Missing the point greatly, I understand end-user disclosure. The point is, android has had a location indicator for generations. It's showing way more frequently now than before OneUI7, that's the point. Which means, something changed, either the app, it's a bug, or, my "deceitful" point, was that if these services were always accessing this location and they weren't reported, and they're now reporting it, they were being deceitful before. Because the whole point of telling a user their location is being accessed is for...them to be notified when their location is accessed. 

I'm not saying Samsung is in the wrong, I'm just calling out the fallacy in the logic that "everything is the same it's just a new icon", because that would mean that 3 months ago I would have seen the location icon 24/7 like I am today. Something changed and there's no documentation about what it was.

[realaud]

If you are so paranoid about location acess, I suggest you give up your electronic devices. Or leave them home while committing your crimes or cheating on your SO.