Microsoft Explains Windows Phone 7 'Phantom Data'

[Phil Conners]

Microsoft has confirmed that some handsets running its Windows Phone 7 software are sending and receiving "phantom data".

Earlier this year, users complained on net forums that their phones were automatically eating into their monthly data plans without their knowledge.

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12238367

[nikster]

Luckily, no one uses WP7, so no big deal

[Crushdepth]

This is a problem for Apple and Android based phones as well. The main culprit is apps - a very large percentage (most) are sending tracking and useage data that is of no use or benefit to the user.

[nikster]

This is a problem for Apple and Android based phones as well. The main culprit is apps - a very large percentage (most) are sending tracking and useage data that is of no use or benefit to the user.

On the iPhone this is tightly controlled and at least up to iOS 4 there was no issue with apps using data in the background. I don't think they do, actually: You have to explicitly allow each app to receive "notifications" - if you say no to that, the app is blocked from background data on an OS level. That is, there is no way around it if you're an official app store app.

I guess it's one of the benefits of Apple's walled garden approach - this kind of thing was also used by Steve Jobs as one of the reasons Apple wants to retain full control of the app store - to protect users from apps that may give away their data.

It's actually a very clever solution for a problem that Apple anticipated beforehand. Apps can't run in the background unless specifically allowed by the user. Likewise, apps can't use (or get at) your current location unless explicitly allowed by the user.

Android has no such protections, so it's buyer beware. On the iPhone, jailbreak (Cydia) apps get around all these restrictions of course (they don't have to play by Apple's rules so they can do whatever they want). Also for apps where you have allowed notifications, they can drain data in the background too. But you can always block them again in the notifications preferences pane.

[Crushdepth]

I not sure about that. Apple is facing a couple of class action suits over iPhone/iPad apps leaking private data. The Wall Street Journal tested 101 apps from the Apple store and found many of them are transmitting personal information without consent. They also found that iPhone apps were generally worse offenders than Android apps :-)

Android does have the same sort of protection - you have to grant apps various permissions on installation depending on what they do. The problem is that once you give an app permission to do something, you have no way to know if the app will abuse that permission or not. Say you give a browser app network communication rights, which is a reasonable kind of thing to do if you want it to work. How do you know the app is using the data connection exclusively for your benefit? You don't. And quite likely, it isn't.

Occasionally the permission request looks weird enough for me not to proceed - like a password manager that wanted network communication rights. But quite often its not clear whether an app really needs various permissions or not.

[Phil Conners]

Many apps want network communication rights in order to show banner ads.

[nikster]

I not sure about that. Apple is facing a couple of class action suits over iPhone/iPad apps leaking private data. The Wall Street Journal tested 101 apps from the Apple store and found many of them are transmitting personal information without consent. They also found that iPhone apps were generally worse offenders than Android apps :-)

Yeah - but leaking private data - which may be anything, maybe these apps transmit your email address, or your address book contents - is different from leaking the data connection (eating up your minutes / megabytes). The latter is only possible if you have explicitly allowed notifications, and you can turn it back off later. Same for your location - apps can't leak it unless you explicitly allow it.

But there's lots of other data that apps have access to. They're not supposed to leak that according to Apple store rules, and might get banned, but Apple is apparently unable to check this beforehand.

True that Android apps have a system of permissions, I had forgotten about that. I have no idea how well it works but it's definitely the right thought there.

@Phil Conners - sure they use the network to show banner ads but only if they're being actively used - not when the phone is off, or the app is off or in the background.