Hacker News Reader

I have a problem with the downgraded protection on the password, but the abuse of significant location change notifications to start background http requests bothers me a lot more.

I hope a follow up post discusses how they removed this "feature" and took advantage of the new API for background updates.

View on HN

It's an opt-in feature, well described in the app and per default turned off. We are however implementing the new iOS7 background uploading processes as well.

Fair enough. Opt-in is way better that opt-out, or worse: not user controllable, and I hoped that was the case when writing my original comment. However, I was doubtful that the ramifications could clearly be explained and understood by most users. But, I haven't tried to do so myself, nor have I looked at the app, so I apologize for the strong stance.

As a user, and an iOS developer, I'm excited to have a supported, battery-friendly (intelligent?) system for allowing frequently used apps to update in the background. And this seems like a good fit.

I'm inclined to agree, but w/o using the particular app, it's hard to know if it's justified "abuse" (bending of the rules) or not.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com