Why Apple’s iOS 13 Asks for Bluetooth

With all new Apple’s iOS 13 comes a strict and unusual privacy policy which is making hype among its users.  With the dark mode feature, the new iOS accompanied this privacy policy in which apps ask for Bluetooth permission. The reason Apple implemented this policy is because Bluetooth enabled companies to track your location over Bluetooth by using beacons in shopping malls, cafes, stores and even on popular streets if they are placed within range of a place you’d walk.

This permission is different from Apple’s custom privacy policy. Getting more strict about Bluetooth connectivity is a good move by Apple which prevents the unwanted tracking of its users.

I think some iPhone owners will wonder at the most basic level and perhaps even assume they have to grant Bluetooth permission for music and other media apps to continue to work with their Bluetooth ear buds, headphones or speakers. When you see an app “would like to use Bluetooth,” it’s a sensible question.

You will see a Bluetooth request from stores and even fast food chains that could use beacons for in-store promotions or help you find in the right aisle what you’re looking for. Other common cases include fitness tracker companion apps, Bluetooth headphones, or camera business apps.

A significant thing to note is that the applications have not altered themselves. Before iOS 13, they used Bluetooth on your phone, but you were not notified. Instead, in the background, your phone gave access.

So likely all the applications that pop up and ask to use Bluetooth on iOS 13 have already been using it in iOS 12. They may want to do so for a lot of good or bad reasons. But there is no easy way to say what they are as it stands. Somehow, Bluetooth access for Apps has both its positive and negative aspects.